Compositions and methods for the synthesis and subsequent modification of uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ)

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to compositions and methods related to the synthesis and modification of uridine-5′-diphospho-sulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ). In particular, the methods of the present invention comprise the utilization of recombinant enzymes from  Arabidopsis thaliana , UDP-glucose, and a sulfur donor to synthesize UDP-SQ, and the subsequent modification of UDP-SQ to form compounds including, but not limited to, 6-sulfo-α-D-quinovosyl diaclyglycerol (SQDG) and alkyl sulfoquinovoside. The compositions and methods of the invention provide a more simple, rapid means of synthesizing UDP-SQ, and the subsequent modification of UDP-SQ to compounds including, but not limited to, SQDG.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to compositions and methods for the synthesis and subsequent modification of uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ). The methods of the present invention comprise the utilization of recombinant enzymes from Arabidopsis thaliana, UDP-glucose, and a sulfur donor to synthesize UDP-SQ, and the subsequent modification of UDP-SQ to form compounds including, but not limited to, 6-sulfo-α-D-quinovosyl diaclyglycerol (SQDG) and alkyl sulfoquinovoside.

BACKGROUND

Uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ) is a unique sugar nucleotide which carries a negative charge at its sulfonate group. UDP-SQ is believed to react with sugar nucleotide-dependent glycosyltransferases and donate its sulfonate group to other substrates in order to form valuable compounds including, but not limited to, 6-sulfo-α-D-quinovosyl diacyglycerol (SQDG). UDP-SQ is thought to be the direct precursor of SQDG, to which it donates its unique sulfonic acid head group, sulfoquinovose. However, there is not a simple, rapid method of synthesizing UDP-SQ, or an efficient method for subsequent modification of UDP-SQ to compounds including, but not limited to, SQDG and alkyl sulfoquinovoside.

SQDG is an abundant sulfur-containing non-phosphorous glycerolipid that is specifically associated with photosynthetic (thylakoid) membranes of higher plants, mosses, ferns, algae, and most photosynthetic bacteria. SQDG is universally associated with oxygenic photosynthesis and is an important component of the biological sulfur cycle.

SQDG has also been shown to be a potent inhibitor of several mammalian DNA polymerases and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Reverse Transcriptase 1 (HIV-RT1), and as such, is valuable as an anti-viral compound. (Ohta et al., “Sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol, KM043, a new potent inhibitor of eukaryotic DNA polymerases and HIV-reverse transcriptase type 1 from a marine red alga, Gigartina tenella,” Chem. Pharm. Bull., 46(4): 684-86 (1998)). Moreover, SQDG has also been demonstrated to be valuable due to its anti-tumor promoting properties and its ability to enhance the cytocidal effects of anti-cancer chemotherapy agents. (Shirahashi et al., “Isolation and Identification of Anti-tumor-Promoting Principles from the Fresh-Water Cyanobacterium Phormidium tenue,” Chem. Pharm. Bull., 41(9): 1664-66 (1993)). Furthermore, SQDG is commonly thought to have excellent detergent properties. (Benson, A. A., “The Plant Sulfolipid,” Adv. Lipid Res., 1: 387-94 (1963)). Thus, a method of producing UDP-SQ, and its subsequent modification to compounds including, but not limited to, SQDG, is desirable.

Traditionally, UDP-SQ has been synthesized through a series of chemical reactions. (Heinz et al., “Synthesis of different nucleoside 5′-diphospho-sulfoquinovoses and their use for studies on sulfolipid biosynthesis in chloroplasts,” Eur. J. Biochem., 184: 445-453 (1989)). However, this chemical production is highly involved, results in low yields of UDP-SQ, and requires several days to complete. (Id.) Moreover, previous studies of SQDG required time-consuming isolation and purification of the anionic sulfolipid from photosynthetic organisms. (Ohta et al., “Action of a New Mammalian DNA Polymerase Inhibitor, Sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol,” Biol. Pharm. Bull., 22(2): 111-16 (1999); Gustafson et al., “AIDS-Antiviral Sulfolipids From Cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae),” J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 81: 1254-258 (1989)). Thus, what is needed is a more simple, rapid method of synthesizing UDP-SQ, and for the subsequent modification of UDP-SQ to compounds including, but not limited to, SQDG.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods for the synthesis and subsequent modification of uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ). The methods of the present invention comprise the utilization of recombinant enzymes from Arabidopsis thaliana, UDP-glucose, and a sulfur donor to synthesize UDP-SQ. Unlike the current methods for the synthesis of UDP-SQ, the synthesis methods of the present invention are simple and rapid. Indeed, the production of UDP-SQ by the methods of the present invention can be completed in less than an hour.

In one embodiment, the present invention contemplates a method for synthesizing UDP-SQ comprising: a) providing: i) uridine-5′-diphosphoglucose (UDP-Glc); ii) a sulfur donor; and iii) a peptide capable of catalyzing the conversion of UDP-Glc to uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ); and b) reacting said UDP-Glc with said first peptide and said sulfur donor under such conditions that UDP-SQ is generated.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited by any specific first peptide capable of catalyzing the conversion of UDP-Glc and a sulfur donor to UDP-SQ. In one embodiment, said first peptide is SQD1, a gene product encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 6.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited by the use of any specific sulfur donor. In one embodiment, the sulfur donor is selected from a group comprising sulfate, sulfite, sulfide, thiosulfate, sulfoglutathione, adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (APS), and 3′-phosphoadenosine-5′-phosphosulfate (PAPS). In a preferred embodiment, the sulfur donor is sulfite.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited by the use of any specific method to express or produce a peptide capable of catalyzing the conversion of UDP-Glc and a sulfur donor to UDP-SQ. In one embodiment, the present invention contemplates the cloning of the sqd1 gene cDNA into the group of protein expression vectors such as pQE-9, pQE-16, pQE-31, pQE-32, pQE-40, pQE-60, pQE-70, pQE-80, pQE-81, pQE-82, or pQE-100. In another embodiment, the present invention contemplates the cloning of the sqd1 gene cDNA into the protein expression vector, pQE-30. (See FIG. 3).

The methods of the present invention are conveniently carried out in a reaction vessel or container. It is not intended that the present invention be limited to any particular reaction vessel. A variety of containers can be used, including but not limited to tubes, flasks and other glassware.

In an alternative embodiment, the invention contemplates the transformation of plant cells or tissues such that the sqd1 gene product is expressed. In one embodiment, the present invention contemplates the cloning of the sqd1 gene cDNA (SEQ ID NO: 6) into a binary vector for introduction into Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and the subsequent generation of transgenic plant cells via Agrobacterial transformation.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited by the use of any specific method to purify a recombinant peptide capable of catalyzing the conversion of UDP-Glc to UDP-SQ. In one embodiment, the present invention contemplates purification of the peptide by use of 6 His-tag incorporated into the protein expression vector that allows protein affinity purification over a nickel-nitriloacetic acid (Ni-NTA) agarose resin-based chromatography column.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited by the use of any specific method for the detection of UDP-SQ synthesis. The present invention contemplates a variety of method, or assay, formats. In one embodiment, an enzyme assay is provided to measure the conversion of UDP-glucose to UDP-SQ as a reflection of the activity of SQD1. In another embodiment, a coupled adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (APS)/SQD1 assay is contemplated.

The present invention relates to methods for the subsequent modification of uridine-5-diphosphosulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ) to synthesize compounds including, but not limited to, 6-sulfo-α-D-quinovosyl diaclyglycerol (SQDG). Unlike the current methods for the synthesis of UDP-SQ, the synthesis methods of the present invention are rapid and simple.

In one embodiment, the present invention contemplates a method for synthesizing UDP-SQ comprising: a) providing: i) uridine-5′-diphosphoglucose (UDP-Glc); ii) a sulfur donor; iii) a first peptide capable of catalyzing the conversion of UDP-Glc to uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ); and iv) a second peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol; b) reacting said UDP-Glc with said first peptide and said sulfur donor under such conditions that UDP-SQ is generated; and c) treating said UDP-SQ with said second peptide under conditions such that sulfoquinovose diacylglycerol is generated.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited by the use of any specific second peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol. In one embodiment, said second peptide is a gene product of the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 derived from a Cyanobacteria species. In another embodiment, said second peptide is a gene product derived from Arabidopsis thaliana and encoded by a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, and SEQ ID NO: 5.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited by the use of any specific method to express or produce a peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol. In one embodiment, the present invention contemplates the cloning of the sqdX gene into the group of protein expression vectors comprising pQE-9, pQE-16, pQE-31, pQE-32, pQE-40, pQE-60, pQE-70, pQE-80, pQE-81, pQE-82, pQE-100. In another embodiment, the present invention contemplates the cloning of the sqdX gene into the protein expression vector, pQE-30. (See FIG. 3). In a further embodiment, the sqdX gene is cloned into the protein expression vector pACYC184.

In an alternative embodiment, the invention contemplates the transformation of plant cells or tissues such that the sqdX gene product is expressed. In one embodiment, the present invention contemplates the cloning of the sqdX gene cDNA (SEQ ID NO: 1) into a binary vector for introduction into Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and the subsequent generation of transgenic plant cells via Agrobacterial transformation. In another embodiment, said gene product is encoded by a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, and SEQ ID NO: 5.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited by the use of any specific method to purify a recombinant peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol. In one embodiment, the present invention contemplates purification of the peptide by use of 6 His-tag incorporated into the protein expression vector that allows protein affinity purification over a nickel-nitriloacetic acid (Ni-NTA) agarose resin-based chromatography column.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited by the use of any specific method for the detection of SQDG synthesis. The present invention contemplates a variety of assay formats. In one embodiment, the synthesis of SQDG is visualized with iodine vapor and identified by co-chromatography with an Arabidopsis thaliana leaf lipid extract known to contain SQDG. In another embodiment, production of SQDG is verified by quantitative analysis wherein reaction products are isolated from the TLC plates and used to prepare fatty acid methyl esters. The methyl esters are quantified by gas chromatography using myristic acid as the internal standard.

It is not intended that the invention be limited to the independent expression of a peptide capable of catalyzing the conversion of UDP-Glc and a sulfur donor to UDP-SQ in a single host organism or plant. Moreover, it is also not intended that the invention be limited to the independent expression of a second peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol in a single host organism or plant. In one embodiment, the invention contemplates the co-expression of both of the peptides described above in a single host organism. In an alternative embodiment, the invention contemplates the transformation of plant cells or tissues such that both peptides are co-expressed.

The present invention contemplates a method for the modification of UDP-SQ comprising: a) providing: i) uridine-5′-diphosphoglucose; ii) a sulfur donor; iii) a peptide capable of catalyzing the conversion of uridine-5′-diphosphoglucose to uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose; iv) an acid catalyst; v) a short-chain alcohol; and vi) a long-chain alcohol; b) reacting said uridine-5′-diphosphoglucose with said peptide and said sulfur donor under such conditions that uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose is generated; c) reacting said uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose with said short-chain alcohol and said acid catalyst under such conditions that a short-chain alkyl sulfoquinovoside is generated; and d) treating said short-chain alkyl sulfoquinovoside with said long-chain alcohol under such conditions that a long-chain alkyl sulfoquinovoside is generated.

In contrast to current methods for the production of alkyl sulfoquinovoside-like compounds, the method of the present invention produces a group of substances consisting of a glycosidic unit sulfonated at the C-6 position and acetalized at the C-1 position with an alcohol. Moreover, the alkyl sulfoquinovosides produced by the present invention, unlike other anionic surface-active agents, can be obtained from renewable natural resources and are biodegradable.

It is not intended that the invention be limited by the short-chain alcohol chosen for the method. In one embodiment, the short-chain alcohol is selected from the group methanol, ethanol, propanol, pentanol, hexanol, heptanol, octanol, nonanol, including isomers thereof. In another embodiment, the short-chain alcohol is butanol.

It is not intended that the invention be limited by the acid catalyst chosen for the method. In one embodiment, the acid catalyst is selected from the group comprising H₂SO₄, HCl, H₃PO₄, BF₃, ortho-toluenesulfonic acid, meta-toluenesulfonic acid, alkylbenzenesulfonic acid, secondary alkyl-sulfonic acid, sulfonic resin, alkylsulfate, alkylbenzenesulfonate, alkyl-sulfonate, and sulfosuccinic acid. In another embodiment, the acid catalyst is para-toluenesulfonic acid.

It is not intended that the invention be limited by the long-chain alcohol chosen for the method. In one embodiment, the long-chain alcohol is a fatty alcohol selected from the group of n-dodecyl alcohol, n-tetradecyl alcohol, n-octadecyl alcohol, n-octyl alcohol, n-decyl alcohol, undecyl alcohol, and tridecyl alcohol. In another embodiment, the long-chain alcohol is a technical mixture of about 3 parts by weight lauryl alcohol and 1 part by weight myristyl alcohol. In another embodiment, the long-chain alcohol is a branched-chain primary alcohol including, but not limited to, oxoalcohol. In another embodiment, the long-chain alcohol is n-hexadecyl alcohol.

It is not intended that the invention be limited by the alkyl sulfoquinovoside produced by the method. The present invention contemplates the production of a variety of alkyl sulfoquinovosides and mixtures thereof. In one embodiment, the alkyl sulfoquinovosides produced are comprised of a mixture of short and long-chain alkyl sulfoquinovosides. In another embodiment, alkyl oligosulfoquinovosides are produced. In another embodiment, alkyl polysulfoquinovosides are produced. In a further embodiment, alkyl monosulfoquinovosides are produced.

The present invention also relates to compositions utilized in the biosynthesis of UDP-SQ and its subsequent modification to compounds including, but not limited to, SQDG and alkyl sulfoquinovoside. In one embodiment, the composition is a substantially pure nucleotide sequence comprising at least a portion of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, or SEQ ID NO: 5. In another embodiment, the composition comprises RNA transcribed from at least a portion of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, or SEQ ID NO: 5. In another embodiment, the composition comprises protein translated from the RNA transcribed from at least a portion of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, or SEQ ID NO: 5. In another embodiment, the composition comprises antibodies produced from the translated protein. In a further embodiment, the composition comprises expression constructs comprising at least a portion of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, or SEQ ID NO: 5. In another embodiment, the composition comprises transgenic plant cells or tissues comprising at least a portion of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, or SEQ ID NO: 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically shows the biochemical pathway for UDP-SQ biosynthesis.

FIG. 2 is a chromatograph showing the results of an assay to detect the conversion of UDP-Glc by SQD1. The chromatographic analysis of ¹⁴C-labeled substrate and reaction products by HPLC is shown (A-C). (A) UDP-Glc without SQD1 protein, (B) UDP-Glc and SQD1 protein, (C) UDP-Glc, SQD1 protein, and sulfite, (D) authentic ³⁵S-labeled UDP-SQ isolated from the sqdD mutant of the cyanobacterium, R. sphaeroides. U1 and U2, products as described in the text.

FIG. 3 schematically shows the vector maps, including restriction endonuclease recognition sites, of the protein expression vectors pQE-30, pQE-31 and pQE-32. The nucleotide sequence for the polylinker region of pQE-30 is provided in SEQ ID NO: 22. The nucleotide sequence for the polylinker region of pQE-31 is provided in SEQ ID NO: 23. The nucleotide sequence for the polylinker region of pQE-32 is provided in SEQ ID NO: 24.

FIG. 4 is a photograph of a sodiumdodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophroresis (SDS-PAGE) gel showing results of the purification of recombinant SQD1. SDS-PAGE analysis of (A) crude E. coli cell culture extract expressing SQD1 protein and Ni-NTA column purification of (B) SQD1 and (C) Thr145Ala mutant. (4 μg of each).

FIG. 5 schematically shows the biochemical pathway for SQDG biosynthesis involving the transfer of sulfoquinovose onto Diacylglycerol (DAG).

FIG. 6 schematically shows the vector map, including restriction endonuclease recognition sites, of the protein expression vector pACYC184. This plasmid is a small, low copy-number E. coli cloning vector that is 4,244 base pairs in length and carries tetracyclin (base numbers 1580-2770) and chloramphenicol-resistance (base numbers 219-3804) genes. The map shows the location of sites for restriction enzymes that cleave the molecule once or twice; unique sites are shown in bold type. The coordinates refer to the position 5′ base in each recognition sequence. Nucleotide number 1 of the vector is the first “G” of the unique EcoR1 site, “GAATTC.” The map also shows the relative positions of the antibiotic resistance genes and the origin of DNA replication (ORI) at base numbers 845-847.

FIG. 7 schematically shows one embodiment for the chemical modification of UDP-SQ with short and long-chain alcohols and an acid catalyst to produce alkyl sulfoquinovoside.

FIG. 8 is a chromatograph showing the results of a coupled APS reductase/SQD1 assay. HPLC chromatograms of reaction products and standards are shown. (A) ³⁵S-labeled substrate APS without enzymes; (B) ³⁵S-labeled reaction products following the incubation with APS reductase alone, or (C) in the presence of APS reductase and SQD1; (D) ¹⁴C-labeled UDP-SQ (U2) from the standard SQD1 assay.

FIG. 9 shows TLC results of an assay of sulfolipid synthase associated with thylakoid membranes which specifically converts UDP-SQ and diacylglycerol to SQDG. (A) Thin-layer chromatography of lipids following the incubation of spinach thylakoid membranes with labeled reaction product U2 or, for control purposes, ¹⁴C-labeled UDP-Gal the substrate for galactolipid biosynthesis. Lipids were visualized by autoradiography. (B) Iodine staining of the U2 lane. DGDG (digalactosyldiacylglycerol); MGDG (monogalactosyldiacylglycerol); PC, (phosphatidylcholine); PG (phosphatidylglycerol); SQDG (sulfoquinovosyldiacylgycerol).

FIG. 10 shows the nucleic acid sequence of the Cyanobacterial sqdX gene (SEQ ID NO: 1) (submitted to GenBank data base and assigned accession number U45308, nucleotide numbers 1800-2933). The start and stop codons are highlighted for emphasis.

FIG. 11 shows the genomic nucleic acid sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana containing the AtSQDX-1 gene (SEQ ID NO: 3) (submitted to GenBank data base and assigned accession number AL137189, nucleotide numbers 82324-85302).

FIG. 12 shows the genomic nucleic acid sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana containing the AtSQDX-2 gene (SEQ ID NO: 4) (submitted to GenBank data base and assigned accession number AL021768, nucleotide numbers 1691-4227).

FIG. 13 shows the genomic nucleic acid sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana containing the AtSQDX-3 gene (SEQ ID NO: 5) (submitted to GenBank data base and assigned accession number AC008016, nucleotide numbers 114774-117142).

FIG. 14 shows the nucleic acid sequence of the Arabidopsis thaliana SQD1 gene cDNA (SEQ ID NO: 6) (submitted to GenBank data base and assigned accession number AF022082). The start and stop codons are highlighted for emphasis.

FIG. 15 shows the nucleic acid sequence of the Cyanobacterial sqdB gene (SEQ ID NO: 8) (submitted to GenBank data base and assigned accession number U45308, nucleotide numbers 576-1784). The start and stop codons are highlighted for emphasis.

FIG. 16 shows the amino acid sequence of the Arabidopsis thaliana SQD1 gene cDNA product (SEQ ID NO: 7) (submitted to GenBank data base and assigned accession number AF022082).

FIG. 17 shows the amino acid sequence of the Cyanobacterial sqdX gene product (SEQ ID NO: 2) (submitted to GenBank data base and assigned accession number U45308).

FIG. 18 shows the amino acid sequence of the Cyanobacterial sqdB gene product (SEQ ID NO: 9) (submitted to GenBank data base and assigned accession number U45308).

DEFINITIONS

To facilitate understanding of the invention, a number of terms are defined below.

“Associated peptide” as used herein refers to peptides that are bound directly or indirectly to other peptides. Associated peptides that are bound indirectly may have one or more other peptides bound between the two associated peptides. Peptides may be bound via peptide bonds, covalent bonds and non-covalent bonds.

“In operable combination,” “in operable order” and “operably linked” as used herein refer to the linkage of nucleic acid sequences in such a manner that a nucleic acid molecule capable of directing the transcription of a given gene and/or the synthe-sis of a desired protein molecule is produced. The term also refers to the linkage of amino acid sequences in such a manner so that a functional protein is produced.

“Expression construct,” “expression vector” and “plasmid” as used herein, refer to one or more recombinant DNA or RNA sequences containing a desired coding sequence operably linked to sequences necessary for the expression of the coding sequence in a cell or host organism (e.g., mammal). The sequence may be single or double stranded.

“Reporter construct,” “reporter gene” and “reporter protein” as used herein, refer to DNA or amino acid sequences, as appropriate, that, when expressed in a host cell or organism, may be detected, measured or quantitated.

As used herein, the term “purified” or “to purify” refers to the removal of one or more (undesired) components from a sample. For example, where recombinant polypeptides are expressed in bacterial host cells, the polypeptides are purified by the removal of host cell proteins thereby increasing the percent of recombinant polypeptides in the sample.

As used herein, the term “partially purified” refers to the removal of contaminants of a sample to the extent that the substance of interest is recognizable by techniques known to those skilled in the art (e.g., by staining, blotting, etc.) as accounting for a measurable amount (e.g., picograms, nanograms, micrograms, etc.) in the mixture.

As used herein, the term “substantially purified” refers to molecules, (e.g., nucleic or amino acid sequences) that are removed from their natural environment, isolated or separated, and are at least 60% free, preferably 75% free and more preferably 90% free from other components with which they are naturally associated.

As used herein, when a solution passes through the solid support matrix, it comprises the “flow through.” Material that does not bind, if present, passes with the solution through the matrix into the flow through. To eliminate all non-specific binding, the matrix is “washed” with one or more wash solutions which, after passing through the matrix, comprise one or more “effluents.” “Eluent” is a chemical solution capable of dissociating material bound to the matrix (if any); this dissociated material passes through the matrix and comprises an “eluate.”

“Antibody” as used herein, refers to defined as a glycoprotein produced by B cells and plasma cells that binds with high specificity to an antigen (usually, but not always, a peptide) or a structurally similar antigen, that generated its production. Antibodies may be produced by any of the known methodologies and may be either polyclonal or monoclonal.

“Staining,” as used herein, refers to any number of processes known to those in the field (typically utilizing dyes) that are used to visualize a specific component(s) and/or feature(s) of a cell or cells.

“Alcohol,” as used herein, refers to compounds that have hydroxyl functional groups bonded to saturated, sp³-hybridized carbon atoms. The term “short-chain alcohol,” as used herein, refers to alcohols that contain less than 10 carbon atoms. Examples of such short-chain alcohols comprise methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, pentanol, hexanol, heptanol, octanol, nonanol, including isomers thereof. The term “long-chain alcohol,” as used herein, refers to fatty alcohols, in particular, the higher aliphatic, primary alcohols containing from 10 to 18 carbon atoms, preferably saturated and preferably straight-chain alcohol of the type obtainable by the industrial hydrogenation of native fatty acids. Typical representatives of the higher aliphatic alcohols for example the compounds n-dodecyl alcohol, n-tetradecyl alcohol, n-hexadecyl alcohol, n-octadecyl alcohol, n-octyl alcohol, n-decyl alcohol, undecyl alcohol, tridecyl alcohol.

“Sulfur donor,” as used herein, refers to any sulfur-based compound that is capable of providing a sulfonic acid group in the formation of uridine-5-diphospho sulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ). Examples of such sulfur donors comprise sulfate, sulfite, sulfide, thiosulfate, sulfoglutathione, adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (APS), and 3′-phosphoadenosine-5′-phosphosulfate (PAPS).

“Acid catalyst,” as used herein, refers to any acidic compounds including the so-called Lewis acids, which catalyze the acetalization reaction between fatty alcohol and a sugar molecule. Examples of acids used for this purpose in industrial processes comprise mineral acids such as H₂SO₄, HCl, H₃PO₄ or BF₃, or sulfonic acids or their salts. Examples of sulfonic acids comprise ortho-, meta- and para-toluenesulfonic acids, alkylbenzenesulfonic acids, secondary alkyl-sulfonic acids, sulfonic resins, alkylsulfates, alkylbenzenesulfonates, alkyl-sulfonates and sulfosuccinic acid.

“Alkyl sulfoquinovoside,” as used herein, refers to a group of substances consisting of a glycosidic unit sulfonated at the C-6 position and acetalized at the C-1 position with an alcohol. In the context of the invention, alkyl sulfoquinovosides are understood to be the reaction products of UDP-sulfoquinovose and fatty alcohols. In its broadest sense, the term “alkyl” in alkyl sulfoquinovosides is intended to encompass the residue of an aliphatic C8-C18 alcohol, obtainable from natural fats, i.e. saturated and unsaturated residues and also mixtures thereof, including those having different chain lengths. The terms alkyl oligosulfoquinovosides, alkyl polysulfoquinovosides apply to alkylated sulfoquinovosides of the type in which one alkyl residue in the form of the acetal is attached to more than one sulfoquinovoside residue, i.e. to a polysulfoquinovoside or oligosulfoquinovoside residue; these terms are regarded as synonymous with one another. Accordingly, alkyl monosulfoquinovoside is the acetal of a monosulfoquinovoside. Since the reaction products of the sugars and the fatty alcohols are generally mixtures, the term alkyl sulfoquinovoside is intended to encompass both alkyl monosulfoquinovosides and also alkyl poly(oligo) sulfoquinovosides.

“Nucleic acid sequence,” “nucleotide sequence,” and “polynucleotide sequence” as used herein refer to an oligonucleotide or polynucleotide, and fragments or portions thereof, and to DNA or RNA of genomic or synthetic origin which may be single-, or double-stranded, and represent the sense or antisense strand.

As used herein, the terms “oligonucleotides” and “oligomers” refer to a nucleic acid sequence of at least about 10 nucleotides and as many as about 100 nucleotides, preferably about 15 to 30 nucleotides, and more preferably about 20-25 nucleotides, which can be used as a probe or amplimer.

The term “nucleotide sequence of interest” refers to any nucleotide sequence, the manipulation of which may be deemed desirable for any reason, by one of ordinary skill in the art. Such nucleotide sequences include, but are not limited to, coding sequences of structural genes (e.g., enzyme-encoding genes, reporter genes, selection marker genes, oncogenes, drug resistance genes, growth factors, etc.), and of non-coding regulatory sequences that do not encode an mRNA or protein product (e.g., promoter sequence, enhancer sequence, polyadenylation sequence, termination sequence, etc.).

“Amino acid sequence,” “polypeptide sequence,” “peptide sequence,” and “peptide” are used interchangeably herein to refer to a sequence of amino acids.

The term “portion” when used in reference to a nucleotide sequence refers to fragments of that nucleotide sequence. The fragments may range in size from 5 nucleotide residues to the entire nucleotide sequence minus one nucleic acid residue. The term “portion” when used in reference to an amino acid sequence refers to fragments of the amino acid sequence. The fragments may range in size from 3 amino acids to the entire amino acid sequence minus one amino acid residue.

An oligonucleotide sequence which is a “homolog” of a first nucleotide sequence is defined herein as an oligonucleotide sequence which exhibits greater than or equal to 50% identity, and more preferably greater than or equal to 70% identity, to the first nucleotide sequence when sequences having a length of 10 bp or larger are compared.

DNA molecules are said to have “5′ends” and “3′ends” because mononucleotides are reacted to make oligonucleotides in a manner such that the 5′ phosphate of one mononucleotide pentose ring is attached to the 3′ oxygen of its neighbor in one direction via a phosphodiester linkage. Therefore, an end of an oligonucleotide is referred to as the “5′end” if its 5′ phosphate is not linked to the 3′ oxygen of a mononucleotide pentose ring. An end of an oligonucleotide is referred to as the “3′end” if its 3′ oxygen is not linked to a 5′ phosphate of another mononucleotide pentose ring. As used herein, a nucleic acid sequence, even if internal to a larger oligonucleotide, also may be said to have 5′ and 3′ ends. In either a linear or circular DNA molecule, discrete elements are referred to as being “upstream” or 5′ of the “downstream” or 3′ elements. This terminology reflects that transcription proceeds in a 5′ to 3′ direction along the DNA strand. The promoter and enhancer elements which direct transcription of a linked gene are generally located 5′ or upstream of the coding region. However, enhancer elements can exert their effect even when located 3′ of the promoter element and the coding region. Transcription termination and polyadenylation signals are located 3′ or downstream of the coding region.

The term “cloning” as used herein, refers to the process of isolating a nucleotide sequence from a nucleotide library, cell or organism for replication by recombinant techniques.

The term “recombinant DNA molecule” as used herein refers to a DNA molecule which is comprised of segments of DNA joined together by means of molecular biological techniques.

The term “recombinant protein” or “recombinant polypeptide” as used herein refers to a protein molecule which is expressed using a recombinant DNA molecule.

As used herein, the terms “vector” and “vehicle” are used interchangeably in reference to nucleic acid molecules that transfer DNA segment(s) from one cell to another.

As used herein, the terms “complementary” or “complementarity” are used in reference to “polynucleotides” and “oligonucleotides” (which are interchangeable terms that refer to a sequence of nucleotides) related by the base-pairing rules. For example, the sequence “5′-CAGT-3′,” is complementary to the sequence “5′-ACTG-3′.” Complementarity can be “partial” or “total.” “Partial” complementarity is where one or more nucleic acid bases is not matched according to the base pairing rules. “Total” or “complete” complementarity between nucleic acids is where each and every nucleic acid base is matched with another base under the base pairing rules. The degree of complementarity between nucleic acid strands may have significant effects on the efficiency and strength of hybridization between nucleic acid strands. This may be of particular importance in amplification reactions, as well as detection methods which depend upon binding between nucleic acids.

The terms “homology” and “homologous” as used herein in reference to nucleotide sequences refer to a degree of complementarity with other nucleotide sequences. There may be partial homology or complete homology (i.e., identity). A nucleotide sequence which is partially complementary (i.e., “substantially homologous”) to a nucleic acid sequence is one that at least partially inhibits a completely complementary sequence from hybridizing to a target nucleic acid sequence. The inhibition of hybridization of the completely complementary sequence to the target sequence may be examined using a hybridization assay (Southern or Northern blot, solution hybridization and the like) under conditions of low stringency. A substantially homologous sequence or probe will compete for and inhibit the binding (i.e., the hybridization) of a completely homologous sequence to a target sequence under conditions of low stringency. This is not to say that conditions of low stringency are such that non-specific binding is permitted; low stringency conditions require that the binding of two sequences to one another be a specific (i.e., selective) interaction. The absence of non-specific binding may be tested by the use of a second target sequence which lacks even a partial degree of complementarity (e.g., less than about 30% identity); in the absence of non-specific binding the probe will not hybridize to the second non-complementary target.

As used herein the term “stringency” is used in reference to the conditions of temperature, ionic strength, and the presence of other compounds such as organic solvents, under which nucleic acid hybridizations are conducted. “Stringency” typically occurs in a range from about T_(m)° C. to about 20° C. to 25° C. below T_(m). As will be understood by those of skill in the art, a stringent hybridization can be used to identify or detect identical polynucleotide sequences or to identify or detect similar or related polynucleotide sequences. Under “stringent conditions” the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO:4, SEQ ID NO: 5, and SEQ ID NO:6, or portions thereof, will hybridize to its exact complement and closely related sequences.

Low stringency conditions comprise conditions equivalent to binding or hybridization at 68° C. in a solution consisting of 5× SSPE (43.8 g/l NaCl, 6.9 g/l Na₂PO₄.H₂O and 1.85 g/l EDTA, pH adjusted to 7.4 with NaOH), 0.1% SDS, 5× Denhardt's reagent (50× Denhardt's contains per 500 ml: 5 g Ficoll (Type 400, Pharmacia), 5 g BSA (Fraction V; Sigma)) and 100 μg/ml denatured salmon sperm DNA followed by washing in a solution comprising 2.0× SSPE, 0.1% SDS at room temperature when a probe of about 100 to about 1000 nucleotides in length is employed.

It is well known in the art that numerous equivalent conditions may be employed to comprise low stringency conditions; factors such as the length and nature (DNA, RNA, base composition) of the probe and nature of the target (DNA, RNA, base composition, present in solution or immobilized, etc.) and the concentration of the salts and other components (e.g., the presence or absence of formamide, dextran sulfate, polyethylene glycol), as well as components of the hybridization solution may be varied to generate conditions of low stringency hybridization different from, but equivalent to, the above listed conditions. In addition, conditions which promote hybridization under conditions of high stringency (e.g., increasing the temperature of the hybridization and/or wash steps, the use of formamide in the hybridization solution, etc.) are well known in the art. High stringency conditions, when used in reference to nucleic acid hybridization, comprise conditions equivalent to binding or hybridization at 68° C. in a solution consisting of 5× SSPE, 1% SDS, 5× Denhardt's reagent and 100 μg/ml denatured salmon sperm DNA followed by washing in a solution comprising 0.1× SSPE and 0.1% SDS at 68° C. when a probe of about 100 to about 1000 nucleotides in length is employed.

When used in reference to a double-stranded nucleic acid sequence such as a cDNA or genomic clone, the term “substantially homologous” refers to any probe which can hybridize either partially or completely to either or both strands of the double-stranded nucleic acid sequence under conditions of low stringency as described above.

When used in reference to a single-stranded nucleic acid sequence, the term “substantially homologous” refers to any probe which can hybridize to the single-stranded nucleic acid sequence under conditions of low stringency as described above.

As used herein, the term “hybridization” is used in reference to the pairing of complementary nucleic acids using any process by which a strand of nucleic acid joins with a complementary strand through base pairing to form a hybridization complex. Hybridization and the strength of hybridization (i.e., the strength of the association between the nucleic acids) is impacted by such factors as the degree of complementarity between the nucleic acids, stringency of the conditions involved, the T_(m) of the formed hybrid, and the G:C ratio within the nucleic acids.

As used herein the term “hybridization complex” refers to a complex formed between two nucleic acid sequences by virtue of the formation of hydrogen bounds between complementary G and C bases and between complementary A and T bases; these hydrogen bonds may be further stabilized by base stacking interactions. The two complementary nucleic acid sequences hydrogen bond in an antiparallel configuration. A hybridization complex may be formed in solution (e.g., C₀t or R₀t analysis) or between one nucleic acid sequence present in solution and another nucleic acid sequence immobilized to a solid support (e.g., a nylon membrane or a nitrocellulose filter as employed in Southern and Northern blotting, dot blotting or a glass slide as employed in in situ hybridization, including FISH (fluorescent in situ hybridization)).

As used herein, the term “T_(m)” is used in reference to the “melting temperature.” The melting temperature is the temperature at which a population of double-stranded nucleic acid molecules becomes half dissociated into single strands. The equation for calculating the T_(m) of nucleic acids is well known in the art. As indicated by standard references, a simple estimate of the T_(m) value may be calculated by the equation: T_(m)81.5+0.41(% G+C), when a nucleic acid is in aqueous solution at 1 M NaCl (see e.g., Anderson and Young, Quantitative Filter Hybridization, in Nucleic Acid Hybridization [1985]). Other references include more sophisticated computations which take structural as well as sequence characteristics into account for the calculation of T_(m).

“Amplification” is defined herein as the production of additional copies of a nucleic acid sequence and is generally carried out using polymerase chain reaction technologies well known in the art (see, e.g., Dieffenbach and Dveksler, PCR Primer, a Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, Plainview N.Y. [1995]). As used herein, the term “polymerase chain reaction” (“PCR”) refers to the methods of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195, 4,683,202, and 4,965,188, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference, which describe a method for increasing the concentration of a segment of a target sequence in a mixture of genomic DNA without cloning or purification. The length of the amplified segment of the desired target sequence is determined by the relative positions of two oligonucleotide primers with respect to each other, and therefore, this length is a controllable parameter. By virtue of the repeating aspect of the process, the method is referred to as the “polymerase chain reaction” (hereinafter “PCR”). Because the desired amplified segments of the target sequence become the predominant sequences (in terms of concentration) in the mixture, they are said to be “PCR amplified.”

With PCR, it is possible to amplify a single copy of a specific target sequence in genomic DNA to a level detectable by several different methodologies (e.g., hybridization with a labeled probe; incorporation of biotinylated primers followed by avidin-enzyme conjugate detection; incorporation of ³²P-labeled deoxynucleotide triphosphates, such as dCTP or DATP, into the amplified segment). In addition to genomic DNA, any oligonucleotide sequence can be amplified with the appropriate set of primer molecules. In particular, the amplified segments created by the PCR process itself are, themselves, efficient templates for subsequent PCR amplifications.

The terms “reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction” and “RT-PCR” refer to a method for reverse transcription of an RNA sequence to generate a mixture of cDNA sequences, followed by increasing the concentration of a desired segment of the transcribed cDNA sequences in the mixture without cloning or purification. Typically, RNA is reverse transcribed using a single primer (e.g., an oligo-dT primer) prior to PCR amplification of the desired segment of the transcribed DNA using two primers.

As used herein, the term “primer” refers to an oligonucleotide, whether occurring naturally as in a purified restriction digest or produced synthetically, which is capable of acting as a point of initiation of synthesis when placed under conditions in which synthesis of a primer extension product which is complementary to a nucleic acid strand is induced, (i.e., in the presence of nucleotides and of an inducing agent such as DNA polymerase and at a suitable temperature and pH). The primer is preferably single stranded for maximum efficiency in amplification, but may alternatively be double stranded. If double stranded, the primer is first treated to separate its strands before being used to prepare extension products. Preferably, the primer is an oligodeoxyribonucleotide. The primer must be sufficiently long to prime the synthesis of extension products in the presence of the inducing agent. The exact lengths of the primers will depend on many factors, including temperature, source of primer and the use of the method.

As used herein, the term “probe” refers to an oligonucleotide (i.e., a sequence of nucleotides), whether occurring naturally as in a purified restriction digest or produced synthetically, recombinantly or by PCR amplification, which is capable of hybridizing to another oligonucleotide of interest. A probe may be single-stranded or double-stranded. Probes are useful in the detection, identification and isolation of particular gene sequences. It is contemplated that any probe used in the present invention will be labeled with any “reporter molecule,” so that it is detectable in any detection system, including, but not limited to enzyme (e.g., ELISA, as well as enzyme-based histochemical assays), fluorescent, radioactive, and luminescent systems. It is not intended that the present invention be limited to any particular detection system or label.

As used herein, the terms “restriction endonucleases” and “restriction enzymes” refer to bacterial enzymes, each of which cut double- or single-stranded DNA at or near a specific nucleotide sequence.

As used herein, the term “an oligonucleotide having a nucleotide sequence encoding a gene” means a nucleic acid sequence comprising the coding region of a gene, i.e. the nucleic acid sequence which encodes a gene product. The coding region may be present in either a cDNA, genomic DNA or RNA form. When present in a DNA form, the oligonucleotide may be single-stranded (i.e., the sense strand) or double-stranded. Suitable control elements such as enhancers, promoters, splice junctions, polyadenylation signals, etc. may be placed in close proximity to the coding region of the gene if needed to permit proper initiation of transcription and/or correct processing of the primary RNA transcript. Alternatively, the coding region utilized in the expression vectors of the present invention may contain endogenous enhancers, splice junctions, intervening sequences, polyadenylation signals, etc. or a combination of both endogenous and exogenous control elements.

The term “promoter,” “promoter element,” or “promoter sequence” as used herein, refers to a DNA sequence which when placed at the 5′ end of (i.e., precedes) an oligonucleotide sequence is capable of controlling the transcription of the oligonucleotide sequence into mRNA. A promoter is typically located 5′ (i.e., upstream) of an oligonucleotide sequence whose transcription into mRNA it controls, and provides a site for specific binding by RNA polymerase and for initiation of transcription.

As used herein, the terms “nucleic acid molecule encoding,” “nucleotide encoding,” “DNA sequence encoding,” and “DNA encoding” refer to the order or sequence of deoxyribonucleotides along a strand of deoxyribonucleic acid. The order of these deoxyribonucleotides determines the order of amino acids along the polypeptide (protein) chain. The DNA sequence thus codes for the amino acid sequence.

The term “isolated” when used in relation to a nucleic acid, as in “an isolated oligonucleotide” refers to a nucleic acid sequence that is separated from at least one contaminant nucleic acid with which it is ordinarily associated in its natural source. Isolated nucleic acid is nucleic acid present in a form or setting that is different from that in which it is found in nature. In contrast, non-isolated nucleic acids are nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA which are found in the state they exist in nature. For example, a given DNA sequence (e.g., a gene) is found on the host cell chromosome in proximity to neighboring genes; RNA sequences, such as a specific mRNA sequence encoding a specific protein, are found in the cell as a mixture with numerous other mRNAs which encode a multitude of proteins. However, isolated nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide of interest includes, by way of example, such nucleic acid in cells ordinarily expressing the polypeptide of interest where the nucleic acid is in a chromosomal or extrachromosomal location different from that of natural cells, or is otherwise flanked by a different nucleic acid sequence than that found in nature. The isolated nucleic acid or oligonucleotide may be present in single-stranded or double-stranded form. Isolated nucleic acid can be readily identified (if desired) by a variety of techniques (e.g., hybridization, dot blotting, etc.). When an isolated nucleic acid or oligonucleotide is to be utilized to express a protein, the oligonucleotide will contain at a minimum the sense or coding strand (i.e., the oligonucleotide may be single-stranded). Alternatively, it may contain both the sense and anti-sense strands (i.e., the oligonucleotide may be double-stranded).

As used herein the term “coding region” when used in reference to a structural gene refers to the nucleotide sequences which encode the amino acids found in the nascent polypeptide as a result of translation of a mRNA molecule. The coding region is bounded, in eukaryotes, on the 5′ side by the nucleotide triplet “ATG” which encodes the initiator methionine and on the 3′ side by one of the three triplets which specify stop codons (i.e., TAA, TAG, TGA).

As used herein, the term “gene” means the deoxyribonucleotide sequences comprising the coding region of a structural gene. A “gene” may also include non-translated sequences located adjacent to the coding region on both the 5′ and 3′ ends such that the gene corresponds to the length of the full-length mRNA. The sequences which are located 5′ of the coding region and which are present on the mRNA are referred to as 5′ non-translated sequences. The sequences which are located 3′ or downstream of the coding region and which are present on the mRNA are referred to as 3′ non-translated sequences. The term “gene” encompasses both cDNA and genomic forms of a gene. A genomic form or clone of a gene contains the coding region interrupted with non-coding sequences termed “introns” or “intervening regions” or “intervening sequences.” Introns are segments of a gene which are transcribed into heterogenous nuclear RNA (hnRNA); introns may contain regulatory elements such as enhancers. Introns are removed or “spliced out” from the nuclear or primary transcript; introns therefore are absent in the messenger RNA (mRNA) transcript. The mRNA functions during translation to specify the sequence or order of amino acids in a nascent polypeptide.

In addition to containing introns, genomic forms of a gene may also include sequences located on both the 5′ and 3′ end of the sequences which are present on the RNA transcript. These sequences are referred to as “flanking” sequences or regions (these flanking sequences are located 5′ or 3′ to the non-translated sequences present on the mRNA transcript). The 5′ flanking region may contain regulatory sequences such as promoters and enhancers which control or influence the transcription of the gene. The 3′ flanking region may contain sequences which direct the termination of transcription, post-transcriptional cleavage and polyadenylation.

The term “transgenic” when used in reference to a cell refers to a cell which contains a transgene, or whose genome has been altered by the introduction of a transgene. The term “transgenic” when used in reference to a tissue or to a plant refers to a tissue or plant, respectively, which comprises one or more cells that contain a transgene, or whose genome has been altered by the introduction of a transgene. Transgenic cells, tissues and plants may be produced by several methods including the introduction of a “transgene” comprising nucleic acid (usually DNA) into a target cell or integration of the transgene into a chromosome of a target cell by way of human intervention, such as by the methods described herein.

The term “transgene” as used herein refers to any nucleic acid sequence which is introduced into the genome of a cell by experimental manipulations. A transgene may be an “endogenous DNA sequence,” or a “heterologous DNA sequence” (i.e., “foreign DNA”). The term “endogenous DNA sequence” refers to a nucleotide sequence which is naturally found in the cell into which it is introduced so long as it does not contain some modification (e.g., a point mutation, the presence of a selectable marker gene, etc.) relative to the naturally-occurring sequence. The term “heterologous DNA sequence” refers to a nucleotide sequence which is ligated to, or is manipulated to become ligated to, a nucleic acid sequence to which it is not ligated in nature, or to which it is ligated at a different location in nature. Heterologous DNA is not endogenous to the cell into which it is introduced, but has been obtained from another cell. Heterologous DNA also includes an endogenous DNA sequence which contains some modification. Generally, although not necessarily, heterologous DNA encodes RNA and proteins that are not normally produced by the cell into which it is expressed. Examples of heterologous DNA include reporter genes, transcriptional and translational regulatory sequences, selectable marker proteins (e.g., proteins which confer drug resistance), etc.

The term “foreign gene” refers to any nucleic acid (e.g., gene sequence) which is introduced into the genome of a cell by experimental manipulations and may include gene sequences found in that cell so long as the introduced gene contains some modification (e.g., a point mutation, the presence of a selectable marker gene, etc.) relative to the naturally-occurring gene.

The term “transformation” as used herein refers to the introduction of a transgene into a cell. Transformation of a cell may be stable or transient. The term “transient transformation” or “transiently transformed” refers to the introduction of one or more transgenes into a cell in the absence of integration of the transgene into the host cell's genome. Transient transformation may be detected by, for example, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) which detects the presence of a polypeptide encoded by one or more of the transgenes. Alternatively, transient transformation may be detected by detecting the activity of the protein (e.g., β-glucuronidase) encoded by the transgene (e.g., the uid A gene) as demonstrated herein [e.g., histochemical assay of GUS enzyme activity by staining with X-gluc which gives a blue precipitate in the presence of the GUS enzyme; and a chemiluminescent assay of GUS enzyme activity using the GUS-Light kit (Tropix)]. The term “transient transformant” refers to a cell which has transiently incorporated one or more transgenes. In contrast, the term “stable transformation” or “stably transformed” refers to the introduction and integration of one or more transgenes into the genome of a cell. Stable transformation of a cell may be detected by Southern blot hybridization of genomic DNA of the cell with nucleic acid sequences which are capable of binding to one or more of the transgenes. Alternatively, stable transformation of a cell may also be detected by the polymerase chain reaction of genomic DNA of the cell to amplify transgene sequences. The term “stable transformant” refers to a cell which has stably integrated one or more transgenes into the genomic DNA. Thus, a stable transformant is distinguished from a transient transformant in that, whereas genomic DNA from the stable transformant contains one or more transgenes, genomic DNA from the transient transformant does not contain a transgene.

A “transformed cell” is a cell or cell line that has acquired the ability to grow in cell culture for many multiple generations, the ability to grow in soft agar and the ability to not have cell growth inhibited by cell-to-cell contact. In this regard, transformation refers to the introduction of foreign genetic material into a cell or organism. Transformation may be accomplished by any method known which permits the successful introduction of nucleic acids into cells and which results in the expression of the introduced nucleic acid. “Transformation” methods include, but are not limited to, such methods as microinjection, electroporation, and DNA particle “bombardment.” Transformation may be accomplished through use of any expression vector. For example, the use of Agrobacterium tumefaciens to introduce foreign nucleic acid into plant cells is contemplated. Additionally, transformation refers to cells that have been transformed naturally, usually through genetic mutation.

The term “Agrobacterium” refers to a soil-borne, Gram-negative, rod-shaped phytopathogenic bacterium which causes crown gall. The term “Agrobacterium” includes, but is not limited to, the strains Agrobacterium tumefaciens, (which typically causes crown gall in infected plants), and Agrobacterium rhizogens (which causes hairy root disease in infected host plants). Infection of a plant cell with Agrobacterium generally results in the production of opines (e.g., nopaline, agropine, octopine, etc.) by the infected cell. Thus, Agrobacterium strains which cause production of nopaline (e.g.′ strain LBA4301, C58, A208) are referred to as “nopaline-type” Agrobacteria; Agrobacterium strains which cause production of octopine (e.g.′ strain LBA4404, Ach5, B6) are referred to as “octopine-type” Agrobacteria; and Agrobacterium strains which cause production of agropine (e.g., strain EHA105, EHA101, A281) are referred to as “agropine-type” Agrobacteria.

The terms “bombarding, “bombardment,” and “biolistic bombardment” refer to the process of accelerating particles towards a target biological sample (e.g., cell, tissue, etc.) to effect wounding of the cell membrane of a cell in the target biological sample and/or entry of the particles into the target biological sample. Methods for biolistic bombardment are known in the art (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,807, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference), and are commercially available (e.g., the helium gas-driven microprojectile accelerator (PDS-1000/He) (BioRad).

The term “microwounding” when made in reference to plant tissue refers to the introduction of microscopic wounds in that tissue. Microwounding may be achieved by, for example, particle bombardment as described herein.

The term “plant” as used herein refers to a plurality of plant cells which are largely differentiated into a structure that is present at any stage of a plant's development. Such structures include, but are not limited to, a fruit, shoot, stem, leaf, flower petal, etc. The term “plant tissue” includes differentiated and undifferentiated tissues of plants including, but not limited to, roots, shoots, leaves, pollen, seeds, tumor tissue and various types of cells in culture (e.g., single cells, protoplasts, embryos, callus, protocorm-like bodies, etc.). Plant tissue may be in planta, in organ culture, tissue culture, or cell culture.

The term “embryonic cell” as used herein in reference to a plant cell refers to one or more plant cells (whether differentiated or un-differentiated) which are capable of differentiation into a plant tissue or plant. Embryonic cells include, without limitation, protoplasts such as those derived from the genera Fragaria, Lotus, Medicago, Onobrychis, Trifolium, Trigonella, Vigna, Citrus, Linum, Geranium, Manihot, Daucus, Arabidopsis, Brassica, Raphanus, Sinapis, Atropa, Capsicum, Hyoscyamus, Lycopersicon, Nicotiana, Solanum, Petunia, Digitalis, Majorana, Ciohorium, Helianthus, Lactuca, Bromus, Asparagus, Antirrhinum, Hererocallis, Nemesia, Pelargonium, Panicum, Pennisetum, Ranunculus, Senecio, Salpiglossis, Cucumis, Browaalia, Glycine, Lolium, Zea, Triticum, Sorghum, and Datura. Also included are embryos (such as those from sorghum, maize, banana), embryonic meristems (such as those from soybean), embryogenic callus (such as from sugarcane), protocorm-like bodies (such as from pineapple), and embryogenic cells as exemplified by those from garlic. The ability of an embryonic cell to differentiate into a plant is determined using methods known in the art. For example, differentiation of pineapple protocorm-like bodies into shoots may be accomplished by culturing the protocorm-like body on agar-solidified hormone-free modified Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium or on agar-solidified PM2 medium (U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,003 incorporated by reference). Differentiation into pineapple roots may be accomplished by culture of protocorm-like bodies in liquid modified MS medium containing 1 mg/L NAA.

The term “conjugation” as used herein refers to the process in which genetic material is transferred from one microorganism to another involving a physical connection or union between the two cells. This process is commonly known to occur in bacteria, protozoa, and certain algae and fungi.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods for the synthesis and subsequent modification of uridine-5′-diphospho sulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ).

1. Method for Biosynthesis of Uridine-5′-diphospho Sulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ)

The methods of the present invention comprise the utilization of recombinant enzymes from Arabidopsis thaliana, UDP-glucose, and a sulfur donor to synthesize UDP-SQ. Although the present invention is not limited by any specific reaction mechanism, in one embodiment, the production of UDP-SQ from a reaction mixture comprising UDP-glucose, Arabidopsis thaliana recombinant SQD1 enzyme protein, and sulfite is contemplated (See FIG. 1).

Biosynthesis of Uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ)

Arabidopsis thaliana recombinant SQD1 enzyme protein catalyzes the formation of the sulfonic acid precursor, UDP-SQ, from UDP-glucose and a sulfur donor. In one embodiment, the UDP-SQ production reaction is carried out in a buffer comprising purified SQD1 protein, Na₂SO₃, radiolabeled UDP-glucose, and Tris for 40 minutes at 37° C. The reaction mixture is then heat denatured to inactivate the recombinant enzyme, and centrifuged at 10,000×g for 5 minutes. The production of UDP-SQ as a reflection of SQD1 activity is detected as described below.

The biosynthesis of UDP-SQ as contemplated by the present invention is not limited to any specific pH value. In one embodiment, the pH is between 7.0 and 9.5. In a preferred embodiment, the pH of the reaction is 7.5.

Although the present invention is not limited to employing any specific sulfur donor, in one embodiment, the sulfur donor is selected from the group comprising sulfate, sulfide, thiosulfate, sulfoglutathione, adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (APS), and 3′-phosphoadenosine-5′-phosphosulfate (PAPS). In a preferred embodiment, the sulfur donor is sulfite. (See also, Example 1).

Detection of uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose (UDP-SQ) produced by the method of the present invention

The present invention is not limited by any specific means of detecting UDP-SQ as the end product of the method of biosynthesis described above. In one embodiment, the means for detecting the production of UDP-SQ comprises using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is as follows. For example, the heat denatured reaction mixture is subjected to analysis by HPLC (Waters Corp., Milford, Mass.) employing a Beckman (Fullerton, Calif.) Ultrasphere ODS column (4.6 mm×25 cm, particle size 5 μM) kept at 42° C. Substrates and products are separated by applying a linear gradient of 30 mM KH₂PO₄, 2 mM tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (Fisher Scientific, Fair Lawn, N.J.), adjusted to pH 6.0 with KOH, to HPLC grade acetonitrile (EM Science, Gibbstown, N.J.) with a flow rate of 1 ml per minute over 45 minutes. In the HPLC system described above, the major compound produced by the reaction co-chromatographed with authentic UDP-SQ, indicating that this compound was UDP-SQ, and that the purified SQD1 catalyzed the synthesis of the UDP-SQ produced in the assay

Production of Arabidopsis thaliana Recombinant SQD1 Enzyme Protein

Essingman et al., “Phosphate Availability Affects the Thylakoid Lipid Composition and Expression of SQD1, a Gene Required for Sulfolipid Biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95: 1950-955 (1998) discloses the production of A. thaliana recombinant SQD1 protein in Escherichia coli using a PCR-based strategy, and speculates that SQD1 is involved in the biosynthesis of UDP-SQ from UDP-Glucose.

The present invention is not limited by any particular method for the production of the recombinant SQD1 enzyme used in the production of UDP-SQ. In one embodiment, a means for the production of Arabidopsis thaliana recombinant SQD1 enzyme protein, having the amino acid/nucleic acid sequence noted in SEQ ID NO:5, is as follows.

In order to isolate A. thaliana genes encoding enzymes involved in the head group biosynthesis of thylakoid membranes, the dbEST database of expressed sequence tags was searched with the predicted amino acid sequence of the bacterial sqdB genes using TBLASTN. Through said search, a partial rice cDNA (EST D46477) was found that encodes a putative protein with high sequence similarity to the bacterial sqdB gene product. (See FIG. 18: SEQ ID NO: 9). A fragment of the partial rice cDNA was used as a probe to screen a A. thaliana PRL2 cDNA library by heterologous DNA hybridization. Although the present invention is not limited by any specific hybridization conditions or membranes, in one embodiment, Hybond N+ (Amersham) membranes were used, and hybridization was performed at 53° C. in sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) containing SDS, EDTA, and BSA. After hybridization, the membrane was washed twice for 20 minutes in a SSPE, SDS solution at 53° C. Several cDNA clones were isolated, including one with an insert of 1,799 base-pairs, which was sequenced (GenBank accession No. AF022082)(See FIG. 14: SEQ ID NO: 6). The corresponding locus of A. thaliana was designated SQD1 and the plasmid containing the cDNA with the 1,799 bp insert was designated pSQD1. (See also, Example 2.a.).

The present invention is not limited to any specific means of expressing recombinant SQD1 protein. In one embodiment, in order to express recombinant SQD1 protein in Escherichia coli, a fragment of pSQD1 was cloned into the His-tag expression vector, pQE-30 (QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.: Cat.# 32149)(See FIG. 3) using a PCR-based strategy. The present invention is not limited to the use of any specific protein expression vector or system. In one embodiment, the protein expression vector is selected from the group comprising pQE-9, pQE-16, pQE-31, pQE-32, pQE-40, pQE-60, pQE-70, pQE-80, pQE-81, pQE-82, pQE-100 (all available from QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.). In another embodiment, the protein expression vector is pACYC184 (New England Biolabs, Beverly, Mass.: Cat.# E4152S). (See FIG. 6). In a preferred embodiment, the protein expression vector is pQE-30. (See FIG. 3).

The present invention is not limited to any specific means of purifying recombinant SQD1 protein. In one embodiment, the resulting plasmid construct, PSQD1-TP, allowed the expression of the recombinant SQD1 protein in E. Coli and the purification of the protein due to the selective binding of the six N-terminal histidine residues of the plasmid construct to nickel nitriloacetic acid (Ni-NTA) agarose resin following the manufacturer's instructions. (QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.: Cat.# 30210). The recombinant protein was eluted and stored in a buffer comprising glycerol, NaCl, and NaH₂PO₄ (pH 7.5) at −20° C. The SQD1 protein was estimated to be approximately 95% pure by SDS-PAGE gel analysis. (See FIG. 4).

Assay for Measuring SQD1 Activity

The present invention is not limited to any specific means of measuring the activity of recombinant SQD1 protein produced by the invention. In one embodiment, an enzyme assay was developed to measure the conversion of UDP-glucose to UDP-SQ as a reflection of SQD1 activity. Basic activity assays were carried out at 37° C. in a reaction mixture containing purified SQD1 protein, Na₂SO₃, radiolabeled UDP-glucose, and Tris (pH 7.5) in a total volume of 100 μl for 40 minutes. The reaction mixture was incubated for 10 minutes, heat denatured, centrifuged, and analyzed by HPLC. Substrates and products were separated by applying a linear gradient of KH₂PO₄, tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (Fisher Scientific, Fair Lawn, N.J.), adjusted to pH 6.0 with KOH, to HPLC grade acetonitrile (EM Science, Gibbstown, N.J.).

Incubation of the SQD1 protein with labeled UDP-glucose as described above resulted in the formation of two compounds with unique retention times as compared to UDP-glucose as analyzed by HPLC. In the HPLC system described above, one compound co-chromatographed with authentic UDP-SQ, indicating that this compound was UDP-SQ, and that the purified SQD1 catalyzed the synthesis of the UDP-SQ produced in the assay. (See also, Examples 1 & 2.b.).

2. The Biosynthesis of 6-sulfo-α-D-quinovosyl diaclyglycerol (SQDG)

The methods of the present invention further comprise the subsequent modification of UDP-SQ to form compounds including, but not limited to, 6-sulfo-α-D-quinovosyl diaclyglycerol (SQDG). Although the present invention is not limited by any specific reaction mechanism, in one embodiment, the production of SQDG from a reaction mixture comprising UDP-SQ, diacylglycerol, and a recombinant peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol, is contemplated as follows. (See FIG. 5).

In one embodiment, SQDG is produced in a reaction containing means by reacting 100 μM UDP-SQ, 100 μM diacylglycerol, and 10 μg of a substantially purified peptide that is a gene product encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, in a 100 μl reaction volume at 37° C. for 40 minutes. In another embodiment, said peptide is a gene product encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3. In another embodiment, said peptide is a gene product encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4. In a further embodiment, said peptide is a gene product encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5.

The present invention is not limited by a specific means for verifying the production of SQDG by the method described above. In one embodiment, the production of SQDG is verified by the following means. Aliquots of the above reaction are analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) on activated ammonium sulfate impregnated silica gel TLC plates with a solvent system containing acetone-toluene-water (91:30:8, vol/vol/vol). Products of the above reaction are then visualized with iodine vapor and identified by co-chromatography with an Arabidopsis thaliana leaf lipid extract known to contain SQDG. (See FIG. 9). In another embodiment, production of SQDG is verified by quantitative analysis wherein reaction products are isolated from the TLC plates and used to prepare fatty acid methyl esters. The methyl esters are quantified by gas chromatography using myristic acid as the internal standard as described below.

Detection of SQDG Production by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC)

Randomly chosen colonies from a mutagenized population of R. sphaeroides cells known to produce the lipid, SQDG, are streaked as small patches (0.5 by 0.5 cm) on fresh Z-broth plates. Lipids are isolated from these patches by collecting cells onto the wide end of a flat toothpick and swirling the material in 75 μl of chloroform-methanol (1:1, vol/vol) contained in polypropylene microcentrifuge tubes. Following the addition of 25 μl of 1 N KCl-0.2 M H₃PO₄, the tubes are vortexed and centrifuged to separate the organic and aqueous phases. A 10 μl aliquot is withdrawn from the lipid-containing lower phase and directly spotted onto an activated ammonium sulfate-impregnated silica gel thin layer chromatography (TLC) plate. For this purpose, Baker Si250 silica plates with a preadsorbent layer are prepared by soaking in 0.15 M ammonium sulfate for 30 seconds followed by air drying to complete dryness. Immediately prior to use, the plates are activated for 2.5 h at 120° C. Activation of ammonium sulfate-treated plates at 120° C. produces sulfuric acid, which protonates phosphatidylglycerol, making it less polar. An acetone-benzene-water mixture (91:30:8, vol/vol/vol) is employed as the solvent system. Lipids were visualized by spraying the plates with 50% sulfuric acid followed by heating at 160° C. for 10 to 15 min to char the lipids.

Quantitative Lipid Analysis to Verify the Production of SQDG

For each strain, three 50-ml cultures were grown in Sistrom's medium aerobically with shaking at 32° C. in the dark. The cells are centrifuged, suspended in 0.5 ml of water, and extracted by vortexing with 4 ml of chloroform-methanol (1:1, vol/vol). Addition of 1.3 ml of 1 M KC1-0.2 M H₃PO₄, vortexing, and centrifugation results in phase partitioning of the lipids into the lower chloroform phase. The chloroform phase is removed and concentrated to 0.2 ml by evaporation under a stream of N₂. The sample is split, and the material is spotted onto activated (30 min at 110° C.) silica TLC plates (Si250; Baker). The plates are developed in two dimensions, first with chloroform-methanol-water (65:25:4, vol/vol/vol) and then with chloroform-acetone-methanol-acetic acid-water (50:20:10:10:5, by volume).

Lipids are visualized with iodine vapor, and after desorption of iodine, the spots were individually scraped into 8-ml screw-cap tubes. To the samples, 5 μg of myristic acid methyl ester in 0.1 ml of hexane was added as an internal standard, since only negligible amounts of endogenous myristic acid were found in the bacterial lipids. Fatty acid methyl esters are prepared by addition of 1 ml of anhydrous 1 N methanolic HCl (Supelco) followed by incubation at 80° C. for 1 h. Following the addition of 1 ml of 0.95% (wt/vol) KCl, the fatty acid methyl esters were extracted into 1 ml of hexane and then dried to a volume of 0.1 ml.

Samples (2 μl each) are injected onto a gas chromatograph (Varian 2000) which was equipped with a 2.4-m column (2-mm inner diameter) packed with 3% SP-2310 and 2% SP-2300 on 100/120 Chromosorb WAW (Supelco). The carrier gas (N₂) flow rate was adjusted to 20 ml/min, and the column temperature was set for 2 min at 180° C., increasing to 200° C. over 10 min, and 4 min at 200° C. The fatty acid methyl esters were detected by a flame ionization detector, and the data were integrated by a Spectra Physics integrator. To calculate the relative amounts of the eight polar lipids included in the analysis, the amount of fatty acids contained in each lipid was calculated. The validity of calculation was based on the assumption that each of the lipids, including the unidentified lipids, contained two fatty acids per molecule and that the different lipids had a similar fatty acid composition.

Production and Purification of a Recombinant Peptide Capable of Transferring Sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto Diacylglycerol

a. Cyanobacterial Peptide

The invention is not limited to a specific means for the expression of a recombinant peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol. In one embodiment, a means for the production of a substantially purified peptide encoded by the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, is as follows.

In one embodiment, in order to express recombinant SQDX protein in Escherichia coli, a 1,133 base-pair fragment of pSYB (See Example 4) containing nucleotide numbers 1800-2933 of SEQ ID NO: 1 (GenBank Accession No. AF155063) was cloned into the His-tag expression vector, pQE-30 (QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.: Cat.# 32149) using a PCR-based strategy. For this purpose, a forward primer having the nucleotide sequence 5′-TTT GGA TCC CGC ATC GCT CTC TTT-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 12), and a reverse primer having the nucleotide sequence 5′-ATA AGC TTC GAG CTC AGG CCG CT-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 13), were used such that BamHI and HindIII sites were provided for cloning into pQE-30. The forward primer amplifies the beginning of the gene with the omission of the Met start site (ATG) and immediately starts at the second amino acid (See FIG. 17: SEQ ID NO: 2). The reverse primer includes the stop codon of the sqdX gene in the resulting PCR product.

The present invention is not limited to the use of any specific protein expression vector or system. In one embodiment, the protein expression vector is selected from the group comprising pQE-9, pQE-16, pQE-31, pQE-32, pQE-40, pQE-60, pQE-70, pQE-80, pQE-81, pQE-82, pQE-100 (all available from QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.). In another embodiment, the protein expression vector is pACYC184 (New England Biolabs, Beverly, Mass.: Cat.# E4152S). (See FIG. 6). In a preferred embodiment, the protein expression vector is pQE-30. (See FIG. 3).

The present invention is not limited to any specific means of purifying recombinant SQDX protein. In one embodiment, the resulting plasmid construct allowed the expression of the recombinant SQDX protein in E. coli and the purification of the protein due to the selective binding of the six N-terminal histidine residues of the plasmid construct to Ni-NTA agarose following the manufacturer's instructions. (QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.: Cat.# 30210). The recombinant protein was eluted with 200 mM imidazole, which was subsequently removed by use of a Millipore Ultrafree 4 concentrator (Millipore, Inc., Bedford, Mass.). The protein was stored in 20% glycerol, 300 mM NaCl, and 25 mM NaH₂PO₄ (pH 7.5) at −20° C.

b. Arabidopsis Peptide—Cyanobacteria sqdX Gene Homologs

In another embodiment, the production of a substantially purified, recombinant Arabidopsis thaliana peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol is contemplated. In one embodiment, a means for the production of sqdX gene homologs of Arabidopsis thaliana encoded by the nucleic acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, and SEQ ID NO: 5 is described. A BLAST comparison of the Cyanobacterial sqdX gene to genomic sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana revealed several potential homologs. In one embodiment, AtSQDX-1, a homolog having 37% amino acid identity with the Cyanobacterial sqdX gene and a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3 is contemplated. In another embodiment, AtSQDX-2, a homolog having 29% amino acid identity with the cyanobacterial sqdX gene is and a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4 is contemplated. In a further embodiment, AtSQDX-3, a homolog having 32% amino acid identity with the Cyanobacterial sqdX gene and a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5 is contemplated.

Although the present invention is not limited to the expression of any specific Arabidopsis thaliana sqdX homolog, in one embodiment, AtSQDX-1 is cloned and expressed as follows.

Total RNA from leaves of two-week old Arabidopsis wild-type plants is isolated according to Logemann et al., “Improved Method for the Isolation of RNA from Plant Tissues,” Anal. Biochem., 163: 16-20 (1987), as described below. In one embodiment, the Arabidopsis leaves are phosphate deprived to enrich for SQDX sequences. The isolated total RNA is then enriched for Poly A+ mRNA using the Oligotex mRNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN Cat. No. 70022) following the manufacturer's instructions as described below. The mRNA is subjected to cDNA biosynthesis using the ProSTAR HF Single-Tube RT-PCR System (Stratagene, LaJolla, Calif.: Cat. No. 600164) following the manufacturer's instructions (as described below) in order to produce a cDNA containing the open reading frame of AtSQDX-1. Primers based on the available genomic sequence of AtSQDX-1 (SEQ ID NO: 3)(GenBank Accession No. AL137189) are designed to allow in-frame cloning into the protein expression vector, pQE-30.

In one embodiment, in order to express recombinant AtSQDX-1 protein in Escherichia coli, a 1,410 base-pair fragment of pSYB comprising at least a portion of the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3 (GenBank Accession No. CAB69850) was cloned into the His-tag expression vector, pQE-30 (QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.: Cat.# 32149) using a PCR-based strategy. For this purpose, a forward primer having the nucleotide sequence 5′-CGG GAT CCA TGA CGA CTC TTT CTT CTA TA-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 14), and a reverse primer having the nucleotide sequence 5′-AAG GAT CCC TAC ACG TTA CCT TCC GGT A-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 15), were used such that a BamHI site was provided for cloning into pQE-30.

The present invention is not limited with respect to any specific primers used to generate an Arabidopsis thaliana sqdX homolog. In another embodiment, the forward primer, 5′-AAG GAT CCA TGG CTT CAC AAA CCA AAC T-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 16), and the reverse primer, 5′-GCG GAT CCT CAT ATT TTG AAA AAG CAC T-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 17), produce the cDNA for the AtSQDX-2 gene. In a further embodiment, the forward primer, 5′-AGG GTA CCA TGG AGG GAT TCG GTT ATC-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 18), and the reverse primer, 5′-GCG GTA CCT TAA GGT CTA TGC ATT TGA C-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 19), produce the cDNA for the AtSQDX-3 gene.

The present invention is not limited to the cloning of any specific nucleotide sequence into a protein expression vector to produce a recombinant A. thaliana peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol. In one embodiment, a fragment of the AtSQDX-2 gene comprising at least a portion of the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4 is cloned into pQE-30. In another embodiment, a fragment of the AtSQDX-3 gene comprising at least a portion of the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5 is cloned into pQE-30.

The present invention is not limited to the use of any specific protein expression vector or system. In one embodiment, the protein expression vector is selected from the group pQE-9, pQE-16, pQE-31, pQE-32, pQE-40, pQE-60, pQE-70, pQE-80, pQE-81, pQE-82, pQE-100 (all available from QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.). In another embodiment, the protein expression vector is pACYC184. (See FIG. 6). In a preferred embodiment, the protein expression vector is pQE-30. (See FIG. 3).

The present invention is not limited to any specifc means of purifying a recombinant Arabidopsis thaliana peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol recombinant protein. In one embodiment, the resulting plasmid construct allowed the expression of the recombinant AtSQDX-1 protein in E. coli and the purification of the protein due to the selective binding of the six N-terminal histidine residues of the plasmid construct to Ni-NTA agarose resin following the manufacturer's instructions. (QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.: Cat.# 30210). The recombinant protein was eluted with 200 mM imidazole, which was subsequently removed by use of a Millipore Ultrafree 4 concentrator (Millipore, Inc., Bedford, Mass.). The protein was stored in 20% glycerol, 300 mM NaCl, and 25 mM NaH₂PO₄ (pH 7.5) at −20° C.

In another embodiment, purification of a AtSQDX-2 gene product capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol is contemplated. In a further embodiment, purification of a AtSQDX-3 gene product is contemplated.

Isolation of Total RNA from Arabidopsis thaliana Tissues

It is not intended that the invention be limited by any specific method to isolate total RNA from A. thaliana tissues. In one embodiment, total RNA is isolated from said tissues by guanidine hydrochloride extraction as follows. Said tissues are frozen in liquid nitrogen and homogenized to a fine powder using a Waring blender. For small amounts of tissue (less than 0.5 g), a rotating pin in a 1.5-ml Eppendorf tube is used to homogenize the tissue. The extract is homogenized further at room temperature by the addition of 2 volumes of a guanidine buffer comprising 8 M guanidine hydrochloride, 20 mM MES (4-morpholineethansulfonic acid), 20 mM EDTA, and 50 mM 2-mercaptoethanol at pH 7.0.

The guanidine hydrochloride extract is centrifuged in a precooled (4° C.) centrifuge for 10 minutes at 10,000 rpm. Subsequently the RNA-containing supernatant is filtered through one layer of cheesecloth to get rid of floating particles. At least 0.2-1.0 vol of phenol/chloroform/IAA is added to extract proteins. After extraction the mixture is centrifuged for 45 minutes at 10,000 rpm at room temperature to separate the phases. The RNA-containing aqueous phase is collected and mixed with precooled 0.7 volumes of ethanol and 0.2 volumes of 1 M acetic acid for precipitating the RNA and leaving DNA and residual proteins in the supernatant. An overnight incubation at −20° C., or a 1 hour incubation at −70° C., is recommended.

The precipitated RNA is pelleted at 10,000 rpm for 10 min and washed twice with sterile 3 M sodium acetate at pH 5.2 at room temperature. Low-molecular-weight RNAs and contaminating polysaccharides dissolve, whereas intact RNA stays as a pellet after centrifugation for 5 minutes at 10,000 rpm. The salt is removed by a final wash with 70% ethanol and the RNA pellet is subsequently dissolved in sterile water and stored at 20° C. until needed.

Poly A+ mRNA Isolation from Arabidopsis thaliana Total RNA

The present invention is not limited to any specific means of isolating Poly A+mRNA from the total RNA of Arabidopsis thaliana leaves. In one embodiment, Poly A+ mRNA was isolated from A. thaliana leaf total RNA with the Oligotex mRNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN Cat. No. 70022) following the manufacturer's instructions as follows.

The Oligotex Suspension is heated to 37° C. in a heating block, mixed by vortexing, and placed at room temperature. A sample containing 0.25 mg of A. thaliana leaf total RNA is pipetted into an RNase-free 1.5-ml microcentrifuge tube, and the volume of the reaction is adjusted to 0.25 ml with RNase-free water. A volume of 0.25 ml of Buffer OBB and 0.015 ml of Oligotex Suspension are added to the reaction. The contents are mixed thoroughly by pipetting. The sample incubated for 3 minutes at 70° C. in a water bath or heating block in order to disrupt secondary structure of the RNA. The sample is removed from the heating block, and placed at room temperature (20° to 30° C.) for 10 minutes to allow hybridization between the oligo dT30 of the Oligotex particle and the poly-A tail of the mRNA. The Oligotex:mRNA complex is pelleted by centrifugation for 2 minutes at maximum speed (14,000-18,000×g), and the supernatant is removed by pipetting.

The Oligotex:mRNA pellet is resuspended in 400 μl Buffer OW2 by vortexing, and pipetted onto a small spin column supplied with the kit. The spin column is centrifuged for 1 minute at maximum speed (14,000-18,000×g). The spin column is transferred to a new RNase-free 1.5-ml microcentrifuge tube, and 400 μl of Buffer OW2 is applied to the column. The spin column is centrifuged for 1 minute at maximum speed and the flow-through fraction is discarded.

The spin column is transferred to another 1.5-ml microcentrifuge tube. A volume of 20-100 μl hot (70° C.) Buffer OEB is pipetted onto the column. The resin is resuspended by pipetting up and down three or four times to allow elution of the mRNA, and centrifuged for 1 minute at maximum speed to pellet the suspension. The flow-through fraction, which contains the Poly A+ mRNA isolated, is stored at −20° C. until used.

Biosynthesis of Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA

Although the present invention is not limited to any specific method for the biosynthesis of Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA, in one embodiment, said cDNA was biosynthesized using the ProSTAR HF Single-Tube RT-PCR System (Stratagene, LaJolla, Calif.: Cat. No. 600164) as follows.

Control and experimental reactions are prepared by adding the following components to separate sterile 0.5-ml microcentrifuge tubes in order:

Control Reaction

40.5 μl of RNase-free water (not DEPC-treated water)

5.0 μl of 10× HF RT-PCR buffer

1.0 μl of control primer set (200 ng/μl)

1.0 μl of dNTP mix (40 mM)

1.0 μl of control mRNA

Experimental Reaction

39.5 μl of RNase-free water (not DEPC-treated water)

5.0 μl of 10× HF RT-PCR buffer

1.0 μl of forward primer (100 ng)

1.0 μl of reverse primer (100 ng)

1.0 μl of dNTP mix (40 mM)

1.0 μl (0.1-10 ng) of isolated Poly A+ mRNA.

Just before use, 0.5 μl of StrataScript RT (20 U/μl) is diluted to a 8.0 p1 final volume with 6.7 μl of RNase-free water and 0.8 μl of 10× HF RT-PCR buffer. A volume of 1.0 μl of the diluted StrataScript RT is added to each reaction. A volume of 0.5 μl of TaqPlus Precision DNA polymerase mixture is then added to each reaction. The reaction is vortexed gently without creating bubbles. Both the control and experimental reactions a placed in a GeneAmp PCR System 9600 thermal cycler (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.: Cat.# N801-0001). The reaction is then subjected to the following thermal-cycling program to both synthesize first-strand cDNA from the mRNA template and to amplify the cDNA via PCR: 1 cycle at 42° C. for 30 minutes; 1 cycle at 95° C. for 1 minute; 40 cycles comprised of 95° C. for 30 seconds, 60° C. for 30 seconds, and 68° C. for 2 minutes; and 1 cycle at 68° C. for 10 minutes.

Upon completion of the thermal-cycling program, the RT-PCR products are analyzed by 1.0% (w/v) agarose gel electrophoresis. RT-PCR amplification of the control reaction, which contains the control mRNA and the control primer set, yields a 500 base pair product. The reaction products will be readily visible by UV transillumination of the ethidium bromide-stained agarose gel. The products containing the cDNA produced by the above reaction are stored at −20° C. until needed.

Co-Expression of Arabidopsis thaliana Recombinant Peptides

It is not intended that the invention be limited to the independent expression of a peptide capable of catalyzing the conversion of UDP-Glc and a sulfur donor to UDP-SQ in a single host organism or plant. Moreover, it is also not intended that the invention be limited to the independent expression of a second peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol in a single host organism or plant. In one embodiment, the invention contemplates the co-expression of both of the peptides described above in a single host organism or plant. In one embodiment, co-expression of the peptides SQD1 and SQDX (for example, in separate protein expression vectors) in E. coli, such that the sulfolipid biosynthetic pathway is reconstituted, is contemplated as follows.

In order to express two proteins in E. coli, two compatible plasmids with the ability to express proteins, one for SQD1 and one for SQDX, are utilized. Each plasmid must have a different antibiotic resistance in order to select for transformants with the correct combination of plasmids. The plasmid pQE-30 provides ampicillin resistance, whereas the plasmid, pACYC184, provides chloramphenicol resistance. The SQD1 coding region, along with the protein expression cassette of pQE-30, is removed from this plasmid using the restriction enzymes Xho I and Pvu II, and ligated into the pACYC184 plasmid (New England Biolabs, Beverly, Mass.: Cat.# E4152S) (See FIG. 6) cut with Sal I and EcoR V. The M15 cell line (QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.) is transformed with a pQE-30/SQDX protein expression construct (as described above). The SQD1/pACYC184 expression construct is transformed into the M15 cell line containing the pQE-30/SQDX expression vector. Upon induction of expression with 1-5 mM isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG)(Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Piscataway, N.J.: Cat.# 27-3054-03), both proteins are expressed.

The present invention is not limited to the use of any specific protein expression vector to produce co-expression of the two recombinant peptides. In one embodiment, the protein expression vector is selected from the group comprising pBK-CMV (Stratagene, LaJolla, Calif.: Cat.# 212209), pGEX-6P-1 (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Piscataway, N.J.: Cat.# 27-4597-01), or pUC19 (New England Biolabs, Beverly, Mass.: Cat.# N3041S).

Expression of Arabidopsis thaliana Recombinant Peptides in Transgenic Plants

Transfer and expression of transgenes in plant cells is now routine practice to those skilled in the art. It has become a major tool to carry out gene expression studies and to attempt to obtain improved plant varieties of agricultural or commercial interest. The present invention is not limited to the expression of a first peptide capable of catalyzing the conversion of UDP-Glc and a sulfur donor to UDP-SQ in a single host organism, or a second peptide capable of transferring sulfoquinovose from UDP-SQ onto diacylglycerol, in bacterial cells. The invention contemplates the expression of Arabidopsis thaliana recombinant peptides in transgenic plants as described by S. Clough and A. Bent, “Floral dip: a simplified method for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana,” Plant J, 16: 735-43 (1998). (See Example 3).

In one embodiment, the general process for manipulating genes to be transferred into the genome of plant cells to result in the expression of a recombinant peptide is carried out in two phases. First, all the cloning and DNA modification steps are done in E. coli, and the plasmid containing the gene construct of interest is transferred by conjugation into Agrobacterium. Second, the resulting Agrobacterium strain is used to transform plant cells. Thus, for the generalized plant expression vector, the plasmid contains an origin of replication that allows it to replicate in Agrobacterium and a high copy number origin of replication functional in E. coli. This permits facile production and testing of transgenes in E. coli prior to transfer to Agrobacterium for subsequent introduction into plants. Resistance genes can be carried on the vector, one for selection in bacteria (e.g., streptomycin), and the other that will express in plants (e.g., a gene encoding for kanamycin resistance or a gene encoding for resistance to an herbicide such as hygromycin). Also present are restriction endonuclease sites for the addition of one or more transgenes operably linked to appropriate regulatory sequences and directional T-DNA border sequences which, when recognized by the transfer functions of Agrobacterium, delimit the region that will be transferred to the plant.

In another embodiment, plant cells may be transformed by shooting into the cell, tungsten microprojectiles on which cloned DNA is precipitated. (See, e.g., Gordon-Kamm et al., Plant Cell, 2: 603 (1990)). In one embodiment, the Biolistic Apparatus (Bio-Rad, Hercules, Calif.) is used for the shooting with a gunpowder charge (22 caliber Power Piston Tool Charge) or an air-driven blast driving a plastic macroprojectile through a gun barrel. An aliquot of a suspension of tungsten particles on which DNA has been precipitated is placed on the front of the plastic macroprojectile. The latter is fired at an acrylic stopping plate that has a hole through it that is too small for the macroprojectile to go through. As a result, the plastic macroprojectile smashes against the stopping plate and the tungsten microprojectiles continue toward their target through the hole in the plate. For the present invention the target can be any plant cell, tissue, seed, or embryo. The DNA introduced into the cell on the microprojectiles becomes integrated into either the nucleus or the chloroplast.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited to the particular manner by which the expression of any specific recombinant A. thaliana peptide in plants is achieved. In one embodiment, a peptide encoded by the nucleic acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 6 is expressed in plants. In another embodiment, a peptide encoded by the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, or SEQ ID NO: 5 is expressed in plants. In a further embodiment, two recombinant A. thaliana peptides encoded by the group of nucleic acid sequences comprising SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 5, and SEQ ID NO: 6 are co-expressed in plants.

It is not intended that the present invention be limited by any particular plant. cell type in which to generate the expression of Arabidopsis thaliana recombinant peptides. In one embodiment, the plant cell is derived from a monocotyledonous plant. In an alternative embodiment, the plant cell is derived from a dicotyledonous plant. In another embodiment, the plant cell is derived from a group comprising the genera Anacardium, Arachis, Asparagus, Atropa, Avena, Brassica, Citrus, Citrullus, Capsicum, Carthamus, Cocos, Coffea, Cucumis, Cucurbita, Daucus, Elaeis, Fragaria, Glycine, Gossypium, Helianthus, Heterocallis, Hordeum, Hyoscyamus, Lactuca, Linum, Lolium, Lupinus, Lycopersicon, Malus, Manihot, Majorana, Medicago, Nicotiana, Olea, Oryza, Panieum, Pannesetum, Persea, Phaseolus, Pistachia, Pisum, Pyrus, Prunus, Raphanus, Ricinus, Secale, Senecio, Sinapis, Solanum, Sorghum, Theobromus, Trigonella, Triticum, Vicia, Vitis, Vigna, and Zea. In a preferred embodiment, the plant cell is derived from Arabidopsis thaliana.

3. Subsequent Modification of UDP-SQ to Produce Alkyl Sulfoquinovosides

The methods of the present invention further comprise the subsequent modification of UDP-SQ to form compounds including, but not limited to, alkyl sulfoquinovoside. (See FIG. 7). The method of the invention is not limited to the production of alkyl sulfoquinovosides. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited by any specific reaction mechanism. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a process for the production of alkyl sulfoquinovosides by reacting of a short-chain alcohol with sulfoquinovose resulting from the hydrolytic cleavage of UDP-sulfoquinovose in the presence of a suitable acid catalyst with elimination of water. The short-chain alkyl sulfoquinovoside is then transacetalized with a long-chain alcohol to form long-chain sulfoquinovosides.

Although the method of the invention is not limited with respect to the structure of the alkyl sulfoquinovoside produced, in one embodiment, alkyl sulfoquinovosides are a group of substances consisting of a glycosidic unit sulfonated at the C-6 position and acetalized at the C-1 position with an alcohol. In another embodiment, alkyl sulfoquinovosides are understood to be the reaction products of UDP-sulfoquinovose and fatty alcohols. In a preferred embodiment, the term “alkyl” in alkyl sulfoquinovosides is intended to encompass the residue of an aliphatic C8-C18 alcohol, preferably a fatty alcohol, obtainable from natural fats (i.e. saturated and unsaturated residues and also mixtures thereof, including those having different chain lengths).

The terms alkyl oligosulfoquinovosides and alkyl polysulfoquinovosides apply to alkylated sulfoquinovosides in which one alkyl residue in the form of the acetal is attached to more than one sulfoquinovoside residue (i.e. to a polysulfoquinovoside or oligosulfoquinovoside residue). Accordingly, alkyl monosulfoquinovoside is the acetal of a monosulfoquinovoside. Since the reaction products of the sugars and the fatty alcohols are generally mixtures, the term alkyl sulfoquinovoside is intended to encompass both alkyl monosulfoquinovosides and also alkyl poly(oligo) sulfoquinovosides.

In one embodiment, the synthesis of alkyl sulfoquinovose is carried out by the transacetalization method with a short-chain alcohol. Although it is not intended that the methods recited by the present invention be limited to any particular short-chain alcohol, in one embodiment, the short-chain alcohol is selected from a group comprising methanol, ethanol, propanol, pentanol, hexanol, heptanol, octanol, nonanol, including isomers thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the short-chain alcohol is butanol.

In one embodiment, the synthesis of alkyl sulfoquinovosides starts from the hydrolytic cleavage of the UDP-Sulfoquinovose. Sulfoquinovose is then refluxed with an acidic catalyst in butanol, the water of the reaction is removed by distillation under vacuum. The purpose of the acid catalyst is to favor the reactions which involve the glucosidic bond.

Although it is not intended that the method of the invention be limited to any particular acid catalyst, in one embodiment, any acidic compound (including the so-called Lewis acids which catalyze the acetalization reaction between fatty alcohol and the sugar molecule) may be used as catalysts. In one embodiment, the acid catalyst is a mineral acids comprising H₂SO₄, HCl, H₃PO₄ or BF₃. In another embodiment, the acid catalyst is a sulfonic acid or its salt, comprising ortho-toluenesulfonic acid, meta-toluenesulfonic acid, alkylbenzenesulfonic acid, secondary alkyl-sulfonic acid, sulfonic resin, alkylsulfate, alkylbenzenesulfonate, alkyl-sulfonate and sulfosuccinic acid. In a more preferred embodiment, the acid catalyst is para-toluenesulfonic acid.

Although it is not intended that the method of the invention be limited to a particular set of reaction conditions, in one embodiment, the reflux temperature is 118° C.; a vapor temperature of 95 to 110° C. is established with the formation of the lower boiling butanol/water mixture; the acetalization with the butanol is carried out under light vacuum (i.e. under a pressure of 800 to 950 mbar); and an azeotropic amount of butanol is removed with the water.

In one embodiment, the butyl sulfoquinovoside is subsequently treated under vacuum with the long-chain alcohol, in the presence of the acidic catalyst. In one embodiment, it is preferable to reduce the content of butyl sulfoquinovoside by removing butanol by distillation under reduced pressure of 10 mbar. In one embodiment, neutralization of the catalyst following the removal of butanol is preferably separated by an interim period of up to about 1 hour, under which the reaction mixture is stirred under normal pressure at temperatures of from 100 to 115° C. In this manner, the reaction of the butyl sulfoquinovoside with the fatty alcohol can be continued under control.

Although it is not intended that the method of the invention be limited to a particular long-chain alcohol, in one embodiment, the long-chain alcohol is a fatty alcohol; more preferably, a higher aliphatic, primary alcohol containing from 8 to 18 carbon atoms; and even more preferably, a saturated and preferably straight-chain alcohol of the type obtainable by the industrial hydrogenation of native fatty acids. In one embodiment, the higher aliphatic alcohol is selected from a group comprising n-dodecyl alcohol, n-tetradecyl alcohol, n-octadecyl alcohol, n-octyl alcohol, n-decyl alcohol, undecyl alcohol, tridecyl alcohol. In another embodiment, the long-chain alcohol is a technical mixture of about 3 parts by weight lauryl alcohol and 1 part by weight myristyl alcohol. In another embodiment, the long-chain alcohol is a branched-chain primary alcohol including, but not limited to, oxoalcohol. In a preferred embodiment, the long-chain alcohol is n-hexadecyl alcohol.

Although it is not intended that the method of the invention be limited to a particular set of reaction conditions, in one embodiment, the reaction mixture comprising short and long chain alkyl sulfoquinovosides, a long chain alcohol, and an acid catalyst, is subsequently cooled to a temperature below 95° C. In one embodiment, the acidic catalyst is subsequently neutralized by the addition of a base and the adjustment of the pH of the neutralized reaction mixture to a pH of at least 8. In a preferred embodiment, the pH of the neutralized reaction mixture is 8.5.

Although it is not intended that the method of the invention be limited to a particular base, in one embodiment, the base is selected from a group of organic or inorganic basic materials comprising the alkali metal bases such as alkali metal hydroxide, carbonates, and bicarbonates. In another embodiment, the base is selected from a group comprising the alkaline earth bases such as calcium oxide and magnesium oxide. In another embodiment, aluminum bases such as aluminum hydroxide or its basic alkali aluminum components are contemplated. In a further embodiment, the base is selected from a group comprising ammonia-based compounds, such as ammonium hydroxide, and amines including, but not limited to, primary, secondary tertiary and heterocyclic amines.

Although it is not intended that the method of the invention be limited to a particular temperature range for filtering the reaction mixture, in one embodiment, the reaction mixture is filtered at a temperature of from 80 to 90° C., and the excess fatty alcohol is removed by distillation at to a level below 5% by weight. In one embodiment, the sump temperature must be kept at levels at which the alkyl sulfoquinovoside is thermally stable. In a preferred embodiment, the sump temperature should not exceed a value of 160° C.

Although the method of the invention is not limited to producing a product of any particular content of short and long chain alkyl sulfoquinovosides, in one embodiment, the product obtained has a high content of the long-chain alkyl sulfoquinovoside and low content of the butyl sulfoquinovoside, alkyl monosulfoquinovosides, and also alkyl poly(oligo) sulfoquinovosides.

Alkyl sulfoquinovosides are anionic surface-active agents that are suitable for use as industrial surfactants for the manufacture of detergents and cleaning preparations. Biermann et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,716, teaches a process for the production of surface-active alkyl glycosides. Miyano, M. & Benson, A. A., “The Plant Sulfolipid VII. Synthesis of 6-sulfo-α-D-quinovopyranosyl-(1→1′)-glycerol and Radiochemical Synthesis of Sulfolipids,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 84: 59-62 (1962) teaches the preparation of 6-sulfo-D-quinovose from 1,2-isopropylidene-6-O-osyl-D-glucofuranose by sulfate replacement, its subsequent conversion to an allyl α-glycoside, and its oxidation by permanganate to form sulfoquinovosyl glycerol. Roy, A. B. & Hewlins, J. E., “Sulfoquinovose and its aldonic acid: their preparation and oxidation to 2-sulfoacetaldehyde by periodate,” Carbohydrate Res., 302: 113-17 (1997) teaches the preparation of 2-sulfoacetaldehyde by the oxidation of sulfoquinovose, or its aldonic acid, with periodate.

EXPERIMENTAL Example 1

In this example, a means for the production of UDP-SQ from a reaction mixture comprising UDP-glucose, Arabidopsis thaliana recombinant SQD1 enzyme protein, and sulfite is described. In one embodiment, the UDP-SQ production reaction is carried out at 37° C. in a buffer containing 10 μg purified SQD1 protein, 100 μM Na₂SO₃, 2.2 mM UDP-glucose [¹⁴C(U)-glucose](69 Bq/nmol) and 50 mM Tris (pH 7.5) in a total volume of 100 μl for 40 minutes. The reaction mixture is then heat denatured 5 minutes at 95° C. to inactivate the recombinant enzyme, centrifuged at 10,000× g for 5 minutes, and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Waters Corp., Milford, Mass.) employing a Beckman (Fullerton, Calif.) Ultrasphere ODS column (4.6 mm×25 cm, particle size 5 μM) kept constantly at 42° C. Substrates and products were separated by applying a linear gradient of 30 mM KH₂PO₄, 2 mM tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (Fisher Scientific, Fair Lawn, N.J.), adjusted to pH 6.0 with KOH, to HPLC grade acetonitrile (EM Science, Gibbstown, N.J.) with a flow rate of 1 ml per minute over 45 minutes.

Incubation of the SQD1 protein with labeled UDP-glucose as described above resulted in the formation of two compounds (U₁ and U₂) with unique retention times as compared to UDP-glucose (See FIGS. 2A & B) as analyzed by HPLC. Filtration of the reaction mixture using Amicon filters (MW cutoff 10,000; Millipore Co., Bedford, Mass.) without denaturation revealed that 77% of the compound U₂ (See FIG. 2B) was free in solution as compared to 35% of compound U. Adding sulfite to the reaction mixture eliminated compound U. completely and further stimulated the formation of compound U₂ (See FIG. 2C). Compound U₂ co-chromatographed in the HPLC system described above with [³⁵S] UDP-SQ indicating that the compound produced in the reaction mixture was UDP-SQ. (See FIG. 2D). Labeled compounds were detected using a β-Ram Model 2 Flow Through Monitor (INUS Systems, Tampa, Fla.).

Example 2

a. In this example, a means for the production of Arabidopsis thaliana recombinant SQD1 enzyme protein, as used in the method described in Example 1, and encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:5, is described. In order to isolate A. thaliana genes encoding enzymes involved in the head group biosynthesis of thylakoid membranes, the dbEST database of expressed sequence tags was searched with the predicted amino acid sequence of the bacterial sqdB genes using TBLASTN. Through said search, a partial rice cDNA (EST D46477) was found that encodes a putative protein with high sequence similarity to the bacterial sqdB gene products. A 400 base pair Xho I-EcoRV fragment of the partial rice cDNA was used as a probe to screen 2.4 million plaque-forming units (pfu) of an A. thaliana PRL2 cDNA library (a lambda ZipLox-based library available from the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio) by heterologous DNA hybridization. Hybond N+ (Amersham) membranes were used, and hybridization was performed at 53° C. in 0.25 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) containing 7% (wt/vol) SDS, 1 mM EDTA, and 1% (wt/vol) BSA. After hybridization, the membrane was washed twice for 20 minutes in a 2× SSPE, 0.1% (wt/vol) SDS solution at 53° C.

Several cDNA clones were isolated, including one with an insert of 1,799 base-pairs, which was sequenced (GenBank accession No. AF022082). The open reading frame (ORF) beginning at nucleotide 170 encodes a putative protein with a calculated molecular mass of 53.1 kDa. An amino acid comparison analysis of the sqdB gene of Synechococcus sp. PCC7942 and the deduced amino acid sequence of the A. thaliana cDNA revealed a sequence identity of 42%. The corresponding locus of A. thaliana was designated SQD1 and the plasmid containing the cDNA with the 1,799 bp insert was designated pSQI1. At the amino acid level, the partial rice cDNA sequence was 86% identical to the SQD1 sequence of A. thaliana.

To produce recombinant SQD1 protein in Escherichia coli, a 1,199 base-pair fragment of pSQD1 (nucleotide numbers 425-1603 of GenBank accession no. AF022082) was cloned into the His-tag expression vector, pQE-30 (QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.) using a PCR-based strategy. For this purpose, a forward primer having the nucleotide sequence 5′-AAA GGA TCC CGT GTT ATG GTC ATT GG-3′ (SEQ ID NO:10), and a reverse primer having the nucleotide sequence 5′-GTC GGA TCC TTA TGT GGT CAT GGA CT-3′ (SEQ ID NO:11) were used such that a BamHIH site was provided for cloning into pQE-30, and that the N-terminal 85 amino acids containing the presumed signal peptide were removed. The resulting plasmid construct, pSQD1-TP, allowed the expression of the recombinant SQD1 protein in E. coli and the purification of the protein due to the selective binding of the six N-terminal histidine residues of the plasmid construct to Ni-NTA agarose following the manufacturer's instructions. (QIAGEN, Inc., Valencia, Calif.).

The recombinant protein was eluted with 200 mM imidazole, which was subsequently removed by use of a Millipore Ultrafree 4 concentrator (Millipore, Inc., Bedford, Mass.). The protein was stored in 20% glycerol, 300 mM NaCl, and 25 mM NaH₂PO₄ (pH 7.5) at −20° C. The SQD1 protein was estimated to be approximately 95% pure by SDS-PAGE gel analysis (See FIG. 4).

b. An enzyme assay was developed to measure the conversion of UDP-glucose to UDP-SQ as predicted for SQD1 activity. Basic activity assays were carried out at 37° C. in a buffer containing 10 μg purified SQD1 protein, 100 μM Na₂SO₃, 500 μM UDP-glucose [¹⁴C(U)-glucose](89 Bq/nmol) and 50 mM Tris (pH 7.5) in a total volume of 100 μl for 40 minutes. An further alternative assay, the coupled adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (APS)(Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.)/SQD1 assay, contained 50 mM Tris (pH 8.5), 10 mM dithiothreitol (DTT), 25 μM [³⁵S]APS (500 Bq/nmol), 250 mM Na₂SO₄, 1 mM EDTA, 500 μM UDP-glucose, 66 μg purified SQD1 protein, and 12 μg APR1 from A. thaliana. (See FIG. 8). In both assays, the reaction was incubated at 30° C. for 10 minutes. The samples were heat denatured for 5 minutes at 95° C., centrifuged at 10,000×g for 5 minutes, and analyzed by HPLC (Waters Corp., Milford, Mass.) employing a Beckman (Fullerton, Calif.) Ultrasphere ODS column (4.6 mm×25 cm, particle size 5 μM) kept constantly at 42° C. Substrates and products were separated and analyzed by HPLC as described above in Example 1.

Example 3

In this example, a means for the simplified transformation of Arabidopsis is described herein and follows the methods of S. Clough and A. Bent, “Floral dip: a simplified method for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana,” Plant J, 16:735-43 (1998).

a. In this example, a Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain carrying the gene of interest, SQD1, on a binary vector is prepared as follows. The entire SQD1 coding sequence (See SEQ ID NO: 6), including transit peptide, but excluding DNA 5 prime of gene, is cloned into pBluescript II (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) using a PCR-based strategy. For this purpose, said SQD1 sequence was amplified by PCR using a forward primer having the nucleotide sequence 5′-CTA GGT ACC AAA TGG CGC ATC TAC TT-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 20), and a reverse primer having the nucleotide sequence 5′-GTC GGA TCC TTA TGT GGT CAT GGA CT-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 11). The primers were constructed such that Kpn I and BamHI sites were provided for cloning the SQD1 cDNA fragment into pBluescript II.

The SQD1 cDNA fragment is then excised from pBluescript II using the above restriction endonucleases, and subcloned into the corresponding restriction sites on the binary vector, pBINAR-Hyg. This vector is derived from pBIB-Hyg (Becker, D., Nucleic Acids Res. 18: 203 (1990)) by insertion of the Hind III-Eco RI fragment from the central portion of pA7 (von Schaeven, A., Ph.D. thesis, Freie Universität Berlin (1989)). This construct is introduced into Agrobactierium tumefaciens strain C58C1 and used to transform Arabidopsis thaliana Col-2 plants as described below.

b. Arabidopsis plants are grown under long days in pots in soil covered with bridal veil, window screen or cheesecloth, until they are flowering. First bolts are clipped to encourage proliferation of many secondary bolts, causing the plants to be ready roughly 4-6 days after clipping. Optimal plants have many immature flower clusters and not many fertilized siliques, although a range of plant stages can be successfully transformed.

The Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain carrying the gene of interest on a binary vector is grown in a large liquid culture at 28° C. in LB (10 g tryptone, 5 g yeast extract, and 5 g NaCl per liter of water) with 25 μg/ml hygromycin B (Calbiochem) to select for the binary plasmid. The Agrobacterium culture is pelleted by centrifugation at 5500×g for 20 minutes, and resuspended to OD₆₀₀=0.8 in a sterile 5% Sucrose solution.

Before the above-ground parts of an Arabidopsis plant are dipped in the resuspended Agrobacterium/Sucrose solution, Silwet L-77 (OSi Specialties, Inc., Danbury, Conn.) is added to a concentration of 0.05% (500 μl/L) and mixed well. The above-ground parts of an Arabidopsis plant are dipped in the Agrobacterium solution for 2 to 3 seconds, with gentle agitation. The dipped plants are placed under a dome or cover for 16 to 24 hours to maintain high humidity. The dipped plants are not exposed to excessive sunlight as the air under dome can get hot.

The plants are grown for a further 3-5 weeks and watered normally, tying up loose bolts with wax paper, tape, stakes, twist-ties, or other means. Watering is halted as the seeds of the plant become mature. Once mature, the dry seeds are harvested by the gentle pulling of grouped inflorescences (i.e. flower clusters) through fingers over a clean piece of paper. The majority of the stem and pod material is removed from the paper and the seeds are stored under dessication at 4° C.

Successful transformants capable of expressing a recombinant A. thaliana peptide are selected by using an antibiotic or herbicide selectable marker. In this example, 2000 harvested seeds (resuspended in 4 ml 0.1% agarose) are vapor-phase sterilized and plated on selection plates with 50 μg/ml hygromycin B, cold treated for 2 days, and then grown under continuous light (50-100 μEinsteins) for 7-10 days. The selection plates of the example are further comprised of 0.5×Murashige-Skoog medium (Sigma Chem. Cat.# M-5519) and 0.8% tissue culture Agar (Sigma Chem. Cat.# A-1296). Successful transformants are identified as hygromycin-resistant seedlings that produce green leaves and with well-established roots within the selective medium.

A sample of successful transformants are grown to maturity by transplantation into heavily moistened potting soil. Leaves from the transformants are removed and subjected to DNA extraction to isolate the genomic DNA of the plant. The extracted genomic DNA is subsequently subjected to restriction endonuclease digestion and Southern Blotting to confirm the incorporation of the gene of interest into the plant's genome.

Example 4

In this example, a means for the expression of a peptide, SQDX (SEQ ID NO: 1), as contemplated in the example above, is described. The entire insert of the plasmid pSYB carrying the sqdB gene of Synechococcus was sequenced (GenBank Accession No. AF155063) leading to the identification of a new ORF (open reading frame) directly 3′ of sqdB. The plasmid pSYB is derived from the plasmid pBlueScript II-SK+ (Stratagene, LaJolla, Calif. Cat.# 212205) and contains the entire sequence of the sqdB gene cDNA (SEQ ID NO: 8) cloned into the plasmid's KpnI and BamHI sites. This ORF encodes a putative protein of 377 amino acids with no sequence similarity to any of the described sqd gene products of R. sphaeroides. Unlike the preceeding sqdB ORF which starts with GTG, the second ORF begins with ATG 15 bp from the 3′ end of the sqdB gene. This ORF was designated sqdX. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of sqdX (FIG. 17: SEQ ID NO: 2) employing Pfam (Protein families database of alignments) revealed a glycosyltransferase group I domain between the residues 228 and 347.

To confirm that the sqdX gene in the cyanobacteria Synechococcus encodes functionally homologous proteins, the sqdX open reading frame of Synechococcus was inserted behind the tac promoter in the mobilizable broad host range plasmid pRL59EH (Black et al., “Analysis of a Het-mutation in Anabaena sp. PCC7120 implicates a secondary metabolite in the regulation of heterocyst spacing,” J. Bacteriol., 174: 2282-2292 (1994)), and transferred the constructs by conjugation into Synechococcus mutant 7942ΔsqdX as described in Wolk et al., “Construction of shuttle vectors capable of conjugative transfer from Escherichia coli to nitrogen-fixing filamentous cyanobacteria,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 81: 1561-565 (1984). Sequences 5′ of the presumed ATG up to the first in-frame stop codon (position 2385912-2387168 of the genome sequence) were included. The sqdX gene of Synechococcus was PCR-cloned from the plasmid pSYB using the primers 5′-AAG GAT CCT GCG CTA AAG TCG CAC TC-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 21) and 5′-ATA AGC TTC GAG CTC AGG CCG CT-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 13) into the Hind III/BamH I sites of pRL59EH. An Ω cassette from the plasmid pHP45Ω (as described in Prentki, P. and Krisch, H. M., “In vitro insertional mutagenesis with a selectable DNA fragment,” Gene, 29: 303-313 (1984)) conferring spectinomycin and streptomycin resistance was inserted into the Hind III sites of these plasmids to provide a suitable selectable marker. The resulting plasmid containing sqdX of Synechococcus was designated pSQDX7942. Exconjugants were selected on BG11 medium containing 25 μg/ml kanamycin, 10 μg/ml spectinomycin, and 1 μg/ml streptomycin and were analyzed by DNA/DNA hybridization to confirm the presence of the proper plasmid construct. The insertion of the sqdx construct restored the sulfolipid biosynthetic activity in the Synechococcus mutant 7942ΔsqdX as shown by TLC lipid analysis. Based on the observed genetic complementation, it is concluded that the cyanobacterial sqdx gene encodes a protein involved in sulfolipid biosynthesis.

Example 5

In this example, a means for the production of sqdX gene homologs of Arabidopsis thaliana comprising the group consisting of the gene product ATSQDX-1 encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3, the gene product ATSQDX-2 encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4, or the gene product ATSQDX-3 encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5, is described. A BLAST comparison of the cyanobacterial sqdX gene to genomic sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana revealed several potential homologs. In one example, AtSQDX-1, a homolog having 37% amino acid identity with the cyanobacterial sqdX gene is contemplated. In another example, AtSQDX-2, a homolog having 29% amino acid identity with the cyanobacterial sqdX gene is contemplated. In a further example, AtSQDX-3, a homolog having 32% amino acid identity with the cyanobacterial sqdX gene is contemplated.

Example 6

In this example, a means for the subsequent modification of UDP-SQ to produce an alkyl sulfoquinovoside is described. The synthesis of alkyl sulfoquinovosides starts from the hydrolytic cleavage of the UDP-SQ. Sulfoquinovose is then refluxed with the acidic catalyst, para toluenesulfonic acid, in the presence of the short chain alcohol, butanol, to form a short chain butyl sulfoquinovoside. The reflux temperature is 118° C. With the formation of the lower boiling butanol/water mixture, a vapor temperature of 95 to 110° C. is established. The acetalization with the butanol is carried out under light vacuum, i.e. under a pressure of 800 to 950 mbar. An azeotropic amount of butanol is removed with the water in the distillation process.

The butyl sulfoquinovoside is subsequently treated under vacuum with the long-chain alcohol, n-hexadecyl alcohol, in the presence of the acidic catalyst to form a long-chain sulfoquinovoside. In order to obtain a low content of butyl sulfoquinovoside, removal of the butanol by distillation under reduced pressure of down to 10 mbar and neutralization of the catalyst are preferably separated by an interim period of up to about 1 hour, under which the reaction mixture is stirred under normal pressure at temperatures of from 100 C to 115° C.

In the next step the reaction mixture is cooled to a temperature below 95° C. The acidic catalyst is neutralized by the addition of the base, NaOH, and then adjusting the pH of the neutralized reaction mixture to a pH of 8.5. After filtering the reaction mixture at a temperature of from 80 to 90° C., the excess fatty alcohol is removed by distillation at to a level below 5% by weight. In using such techniques the so-called sump temperature must be kept at levels at which the alkyl sulfoquinovoside is thermally stable (i.e., the sump temperature should not exceed a value of 160° C.). The product obtained has a high content of the long-chain alkyl sulfoquinovoside and low content of the butyl sulfoquinovoside, alkyl monosulfoquinovosides, and also alkyl poly(oligo) sulfoquinovosides.

Example 7

AtSQDX Homolog Cloning and Sequencing

Although an understanding of the mechanism is not necessary to use the present invention, this example describes experiments designed to isolate the AtSQDX homologs and determine the amino acid and nucleotide sequences. The known genomic sequence containing the AtSQDX gene is used to generate oligonucleotide probes for the cloning of the gene encoding AtSQDX (Sambrook, et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, pp. 16.7-16.8(1989)). The sequence is isolated and amplified by PCR (see, e.g., Dieffenbach and Dveksler, PCR Primer, a Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, Plainview, N.Y. (1995) and, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195, 4,683,202, and 4,965,188, which are herein incorporated by reference). After purification, the isolated sequence is cloned into an expression vector for transfection into a cell free, prokaryotic or eukaryotic expression system (See, Ausubel, et al., ed., Short Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons, NY (1992)). After expression, the protein is isolated and purified. The protein may then be used for the generation of antibodies (see, generally, Howard and Bethell, e.g., Basic Methods in Antibody Production and Characterization, CRC Press, (2000)).

Alternatively, preparative reagents are generated to isolate the specific target by conjugating antibodies generated from expression of fragments of the genomic sequences known to contain the desired sequence. The antibodies are generated by methods known to those in the art (See, generally, Howard and Bethell, e.g., Basic Methods in Antibody Production and Characterization, CRC Press, (2000)) to generate anti-AtSQDX antibodies. The antibodies are conjugated to agarose beads. Furthermore, a parallel conjugate of agarose beads to a control immune globulin is accomplished. Ultracentrifuged cell lysates from the desired cell line are exposed to the control non-immune I conjugated beads to remove non-specifically binding proteins. The unbound lysate is recovered and is then exposed to the anti-AtSQDX antibody conjugated agarose beads for a direct affinity purification. The anti-AtSQDX antibody/AtSQDX complex is washed with 2.5 M KCL to remove non-specifically bound materials and the AtSQDX is then eluted from the agarose beads with 0.1 M glycine HCL in the presence of 0.5 M NaCl. The eluted material from the column is neutralized with 1 M Tris pH 8.0, dialyzed extensively to reduce the salt concentration to 150 mM and then reconcentrated. The reconcentrated material is placed on SDS-PAGE under non-reducing conditions for a final purification based on molecular size. This material is transferred to a membrane for electrospray tandem mass spectroscopic analysis of the amino acid sequence. This later sequence is used to generate oligonucleotide probes for the cloning of the gene encoding AtSQDX.

All publications and patents mentioned in the above specification are herein incorporated by reference. Various modifications and variations of the described method and system of invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A method, comprising: a) providing: i) uridine-5′-diphosphoglucose; ii) sulfite; iii) an isolated first polypeptide encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6; and iv) an isolated second polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:1 and the cDNA of SEQ ID NO:3; b) reacting said uridine-5′-diphosphoglucose with said first polypeptide and said sulfite under such conditions that uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose is generated; and c) treating said uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose with said second polypeptide under conditions such that sulfoquinovose diacylglycerol is generated.
 2. A method, comprising: a) providing: i) uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose; ii) diacylglycerol; iii) a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1 and the cDNA of the sequence SEQ ID NO:3; and iv) a host cell b) transfecting said host cell with said nucleic acid sequence under conditions such that a polypeptide encoded by said nucleic acid sequence is expressed; c) isolating said expressed polypeptide; and d) reacting uridine-5′-diphosphosulfoquinovose with said polypeptide of step (c) and said diacylglycerol under conditions such that sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol produced.
 3. A method, comprising: a) providing: i) a first vector comprising the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6; ii) a second vector comprising the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; and iii) a host cell; b) transfecting said host cell with first and second vectors, thereby creating a transformed host cell and culturing said host cell, under conditions such that sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol is produced by said transformed host cell.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said host cell, prior to said transfecting of step (b) does not produce sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said host cell is a bacterial host cell.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein said bacterial host cell is E. coli.
 7. The method of claim 3, wherein said first and second vectors are plasmids conferring different antibiotic resistance to said transformed host cell.
 8. The method of claim 3, wherein said host cell, prior to said transfecting of step (b) produces less sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol than said transformed host cell.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said host cell is a plant host cell.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein said plant host cell is derived from a monocotyledonous plant.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein said plant host cell is derived from a dicotyledonous plant.
 12. A method, comprising: a) providing: i) a first vector comprising the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6; ii) a second vector comprising the nucleic acid sequence corresponding to the cDNA of the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and iii) a host cell; b) transfecting said host cell with first and second vectors, thereby creating a transformed host cell and culturing said host cell, under conditions such that sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol is produced by said transformed host cell.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said host cell, prior to said transfecting of step (b) does not produce sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein said host cell is a bacterial host cell.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein said bacterial host cell is E. coli.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein said first and second vectors are plasmids conferring different antibiotic resistance to said transformed host cell.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein said host cell, prior to said transfecting of step (b) produces less sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol than said transformed host cell.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said host cell is a plant host cell.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein said plant host cell is derived from a monocotyledonous plant.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein said plant host cell is derived from a dicotyledonous plant.
 21. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of isolating said sulfoquinovose diacylglycerol generated in step (c).
 22. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of isolating said sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol produced in step (d).
 23. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of isolating said sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol produced in step (b).
 24. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of isolating said sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol produced in step (b). 